Something Fishy!

                                     Fish Curry aka Chepala Igguru/Fish Igguru

Fish Curry (whatever fish it is) always reminds me of home in Vizag. Such fond memories, where my Mom would wait for the fishwife (read Chepala ammayi in Telugu, yes she would shout her name from the balcony) every Sunday, to get the best ones. I would always join her, selecting the fish and I knew nothing about the skill. Vanjaram, Sandua, Bocchu, Gurivindalu, Sorra (all Telugu names, dont ask me what they are called in English) are the fish she would cook at home in pulusu, igguru or just pan fry. Till date, I cannot identify which is what, but I can sure taste the difference. Moving to US, I crave and miss all the Indian fish. All I could try was Seabass( not good for Indian cooking), Catfish, Salmon, Tilapia and yes Sardines( bad choice, learnt my lesson). Out of this, Tilapia and Catfish (the most unhealthy) are my favorites as they taste somewhat close to the Indian variety. This is a recipe I learnt from my Mom over our long phone calls during the 1st month of my marriage. Long distance calls, long chats, mom and daughter gossip, WHAT FUN!

Posting this on Husband's request from Manila. He better take good pictures for me to add to this post, as this is my first one.

Serving: 2-4
Time: 10 mins pan fry + 20 mins prep/cooking

Ingredients:
To marinate:
Catfish: cut in small pieces horizontally (steak cut) 1 whole
Turmeric: 11/2 tea spoon
Chillipowder : 4 tea spoon (adjust to spice level)
Lemon: 1

To grind:
Onions: 2big chopped
Ginger and Garlic: 4 table spoon

Other:
Cinnamon: 1/2 inch
Cardamom: 6 pods
Cloves: 4
Tomato: 1
Curry leaves: 1 sprig (add more for that distinct flavor)
Oil
Water

Prep/Cooking:
Clean the fish under running water really well. Take a bowl and add 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp salt, 2tsp chili powder. Squeeze one whole lemon, it helps the piece to stay intact, without breaking. Mix gently, make sure the mix is applied to the fish. Leave it aside for 30 mins. Even better if it is 1 hr.

Meanwhile, take a pan, add little oil and fry the onions till golden brown. Once done, let them cool. Grind it till smooth paste.

After the fish is marinated, take a flat pan, pour some oil and heat it with a sprig of curry leaves. Drop the fish pieces onto the pan, turning them once a while till the fish gets half cooked and its base is seared (approx. 5-8 mins, depends on the cut). Keep the fish aside.

In a deep pan, add enough oil so that it covers the whole surface and heat it on medium flame. Add Cinnamon, Cardamom, Cloves. Once you get the aroma, add onion paste and mix thoroughly. Since, the onions are already cooked and ground,  just make sure that it blends well with the spiced oil. Stir for  5 mins. Now add the ginger- garlic paste. It usually sticks to the bottom of the pan,s o keeping stirring frequently, so it does not stick and burn. After you no longer smell the raw ginger garlic, add 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric. Mix. Once you see oil leaving the masala paste and moving to the edge of the pan, add 1 chopped tomato. Mix and close the pan with a lid for 5 min, till the tomato gets cooked and the juices blend well.

To the masala paste, add the marinated pan fried/seared fish. Do not mix, as the piece will break. Add 1 cup water (200 ml, if you want more gravy add more) and gently shake the vessel by holding its handles so that the fish gets mixed well with water and the masala paste. Let it cook for 10 mins in the gravy. Once, you see oil seeping up, consider it done.

Check for salt, chili powder. You can add garam masala too. Finally, add finely chopped coriander leaves and switch off the stove. Leave it covered for 5 mins.

Devour it with hot steamed rice, with chopped onions and squeezed lemon.

Bon Appetit!