Kacchi imli Machli Khatta

The other day I went to the Indian stores and guess what I found? Probably you can't guess...or may be you did guess right, looking at the heading of this particular blog. I found "Kacchi Imli" i.e fresh Tamarind. I haven't had that in ages. My mom used to make this fish stew with fresh tamarind seldom cause it causes you to catch a cold.   And me and my mom had a tendency to caught cold very easily. But still I loved it.
                    And today for the first time in my life I made this fish stew with fresh tamarind and boy does it bring back memories of my mom's cooking. mmm...how I miss her!!!
                   Anyway, if ever you get a chance to to buy some fresh tamarind do make this recipe. Its terrific.

Kacchi Imli Machli Khatta ( Mini pomfret stew with fresh tamarind)

Chintakaaya Chapala Pulusu

Ingredients:

1. 6 mini pomfrets (heads off and cleaned)
2. 1 medium small red onion
3. 1 inch fresh ginger
4. 1 big or 2 small garlic
5. 2 tablespoons oil
6. 1/3-1/2 lb fresh tamarind (peeled and pitted)
7. 1/2 teaspoon salt, chilly powder, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin

Grind the onion along with ginger and garlic and cumin to a fine paste. 

In a pressure cooker, pressure cook the tamarind for 4-5 whistles with a cup of water and turmeric.

In a pan heat the oil and add the onion paste and fry for a couple of minutes. Add all the other ingredients and stir well. Add the fish and fry for a few minutes. Mash the tamarind a little and add this juice and pulp to the fish along with one more cup of water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add slit green chillies and chopped coriander (cilantro) and simmer further till oil separates. Serve with hot white rice

Maharastrian Fish stew

I was seaching for some fish curry with lots of sauce or fish stew to go with the Roti cause I didn't want to make rice today and I found this "hirva" fish curry from Maharastra. And I also got the Kokum the recipe called for but I was not sure how tangy this kokum is. It is sour like tamarind and I am pretty sure you can substitute tamarind juice in this curry and it will taste just a little different.
                Anyway, the thing that I really liked about Kokum is its flowery smell. mmm something about that was good. I liked it. So here is the recipe

Maharastrian Fish Stew (Fish fillet stew in Coconut and Indian Spices)

Maharastrian Green Fish Stew

Ingredients:

1. 3 boneless skinless fillet of Tilapia or Swai fish cut into bite size pieces
2. 1/4 cup fresh coconut pieces
3. 1 jalapeno or 2 serrano chile
4. 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
5. 1 teaspoon turmeric
6. 4-6 dried kokum  soaked in 3/4 cup of  hot-warm water for atleast 20 minutes. Remove the seeds
7. 1/2 teaspoon salt
8. 1 medium onion finey chopped
9. 2 garlic pods
10. 2 tablespoons oil
11. 1 cup coconut milk (optional)

Grind the coconut, chile, cilantro, garlic and kokum and grind it to paste. In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions till light brown. Add the paste and fry till oil separates. Add about 2 cups water or 1 cup water and 1 cup coconut milk if using. Add the fish and simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt and give it a taste test. Stir and serve with warm roti . And this goes very well with hot steamed rice