My hometown is a small fishing town in the southern tip of India, so my love for fish shouldn’t be a surprise. Nothing compares to the taste of freshly caught fish cooked within hours. I became a vegetarian few years back and I have to say it would have been impossible if I am still living in my hometown. This curry is a traditional recipe and brings back memories of my school days, sharing lunches with friends, I had a couple of friends whose moms made awesome versions of this curry 🙂

Fish – cleaned , cut and rubbed with turmeric and salt. (I have Tilapia here)

Tamarind water (Even after all these years of cooking I can’t rightly judge how much tamarind I will need. I usually make a good amount of tamarind water and add to the recipe as needed and save the rest in the fridge and try to use it within 4-5 days).

chopped onions, diced tomatoes and a generous amount of curry leaves.

In a pan, add 2tbsp of sesame oil. Fry 1 tsp of mustard seeds and 1/2 tsp of fenugreek.
Saute the onions and curry leaves.

When the onions lightly brown, add :  2 tsp of turmeric powder and red chilli powder (according to your heat preference) directly to the oil. This will instantly cook the chilli powder and take the raw smell out of it.

Once the oil separates, add the tomatoes.

When the tomatoes soften, add the tamarind water.

Add about a cup of water and salt. Allow this to boil and reduce a little bit (until the raw taste of tamarind goes away).

Add the fish pieces and allow it to cook for 5 mins. That’s all it will take for the fish to cook.