The Romance of Clay Pots and Kerala Fish Curry

The best meals we’ve ever had are usually a combination of nostalgia and great cooking. These are meals that we will always cherish because they not only satisfy our taste buds but also take us down the memory lane. For me, the Kerala fish curry cooked in the traditional Manchatti (clay pot) will be my ultimate soul food. Soft and juicy chunks of fish cooked in a spicy-sour tamarind gravy is a classic recipe in all Syrian Catholic homes. It tastes best when prepared in the age old Manchatti.

        
The clay pot enhances the overall flavor of the fish curry giving it an authentic taste. But gone are the days when people cooked in earthenware. Today, clay pots have been replaced with metal utensils. Metal utensils have a tendency to leach the food being cooked in it. Acidic ingredients such as tamarind accelerates the leaching process and renders the food bland. You then have to add more and more ingredients to compensate for the loss of flavor. Metal utensils are no doubt easy to handle and maintain, but cooking in earthenware has innumerable benefits to its credit.

Firstly, earthen cookware is inexpensive and easily available. You can get all kinds of earthenware in different shapes and sizes without burning a hole in your pocket. It is also known to have multiple health benefits. Food cooked in clay pots are rich in calcium, phosphorus, iron, and magnesium which are essential minerals for your body. Apart from that clay pots also balance out the PH of acidic foods as they are alkaline in nature making your food healthier.

Fish curry is still cooked in pure clay pots by many people across the world simply because the recipe turns out tasting much better!

Ingredients

·         2 pounds of firm fish such as mackerel

·         2 tablespoons of coconut oil

·         15 shallot, finely sliced

·         1 small green chilly

·         1-inch ginger

·         6 cloves of garlic

·         3 Kudam puli (tamarind), shredded

·         3 tablespoons of Kashmiri chilly powder

·         1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

·         1/4 teaspoon Fenugreek

·         1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

·         1/2 teaspoon black pepper

·         2 cups of water

·         2 sprigs of curry leaves

Method

1.    Wash the dried Kudam puli, and soak them in half cup of water.

2.    While the Kudam puli is soaking, clean the fish and cut it into medium size pieces.

3.    Finely slice the shallots, ginger, and garlic.

4.    Put the Clay Curry Pot on the heat and slowly bring it up to temperature. Add the coconut oil to the pan, and add the fenugreek and mustard seeds and wait till they start to splatter.

5.    Add the sliced shallots, ginger and garlic, along with the green chilly and curry leaves and sauté on medium heat, until golden brown, but don't let the shallots burn otherwise it will be bitter.

6.    Lower the heat and add the chilly powder, turmeric, and pepper and slowly cook it while stirring for approximately 5 to 7 minutes, or until the raw flavor diminishes and the red color darkens. Be careful with the fumes as they might make you cough.

7.    Add the soaked Kudam puli along with the soaking liquid, and an additional 1 1/4 cups of water.

8.    Bring the heat to high and adjust the seasoning with salt.

9.    Once the liquid begins to boil, gently lay the fish in the clay pot, and cook over medium heat along with the curry leaves for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, or until fully cooked. Make sure to check it periodically and stir it ever so slightly to prevent the fish from sticking to the bottom and burning. If the liquid gets too dry, add a little more water.

10.Serve with steamed rice.