Mathy Meen Kuzhambu - Spicy and Sour Sardines curry with Gambooge

Mathy meen kuzhambu is a specialty of Kerala that has become a much loved by everyone in the house. Sadly I have never tasted it till a few years ago. The curry was talked of highly by DH's SIL tasted in Kerala on her numerous visits there. The very first time we tasted nor surprise there we were hooked too. The problem is we cannot visit Kerala every time we want to taste this curry so I had to get down to business and learn to make the curry myself.

The curry itself is not hard provided the right ingredients are on hand. I found Gambooge or Goraka as it is called in Srilanka on my last visit to the Srilankan grocery store which is an important ingredient for this Kerala style fish curry. Unlike in TamilNadu where we use tamarind pulp for fish kuzhambu, in Kerala Kodumpuli or Gambooge is what is used for the sourness. Smoky with a subtle sourness it indeed is perfect for fish curry.

The toughest part is finding fresh sardines. I found a packet of frozen sardines in the Indian grocery store. Sardines in general are very smelly fish. I did not realize the frozen fish were not cleaned. If I had known I would have never picked them up. Glad I did not know and this is how the fish curry came to be. As for the smell in the kitchen sink a combination of besan flour (kadalamavu), distilled white vinegar and baking soda took care of it. Sprinkle each of them i nthe sink and wash off after about 1/2 hour or so.

Anyway once thawed for the cleaning part, the fish scales had to be removed and then a cut is made from the tail along the abdomen all the way to the head. Do NOT cut all the way thorough as to split the fish in half , just enough to get the innards and then the gills out. I left the head in but it is ok to chop it off too. Once cleaned rinse them clean, add a tbsp of turmeric powder and mix it into them and let them be till you get the other ingredients ready.

Shallots are a must for this curry. The other onions will work too but shallots are the best for this. If you do not have Gambooge tamarind will work in a pinch but make the pulp as thick as possible or use tamarind paste.

I had Bharathy of Spicy Chilly's recipe to guide me in the process.

Mathy Meen Kuzhambu - - Spicy and Sour Sardines curry with Gambooge Preparation Time:20-30 minutes
Cooking Time:45 minutes
Ingredients

1. 12-16 cleaned sardines
2. 4-5 pieces of gambogee washed and soaked in 1/2 cup of water
3. 10 shallotes (about 1 - 1 1/2 cups) chopped
4. 4 green chilies slit
5. 1 tbsp Kashmiri chili powder if using regular red chili powder about 3/4 tbsp or to taste
6. 1/2 tbsp coriander powder or sambhar powder
7. 2 tsp of regular chili powder only if using Kashmiri chili powder
8. 5 garlic cloves sliced
9. 1 1/2 tbsp of grated ginger
10. 1/2 tsp of roasted and powdered methi/fenugreek seeds
11. salt to taste
12. 2-3 tsp of turmeric powder
13. seasonings: curry leaves 2 sprigs, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and methi seeds all about a pinch

Method

1. Wash and clean the fish, rub it with turmeric and set aside.
2. In a wide mouthed pan heat oil and when hot add the seasonings, cumin,methi and mustard, let the mustard seeds pop and then add the curry leaves.
3. Add the green chilies and onions and let it saute till they become translucent, now add in the garlic and ginger and saute till the onions start to turn brown.
4. Add the chili powders, sambhar powder/coriander powder and salt, mix it in well and add about 3 cups of water (the water should be enough to submerge the fish you have on hand after the gravy thickens a bit).
5. Let it come to a boil and let simmer takes about 6-8 minutes. Now add in the gambogee water and all. You do not have to squeeze like you would regular tamarind. Let boil for another 8-10 minutes.
6. Add in the fish gently and let them all be immersed in the curry. Cook for another 8-10 minutes. Sprinkle the fenugreek/methi powder. Turn off the heat. Let sit. The longer the curry sits the tastier it gets.
Note: 1. If you do not have sardines or do not want to use it other fish will work with this curry as well methinks.
2. Sardines have a lot of scales and bones so be careful while eating and watch for the bones.

Spicy Grilled Rack of Lamb with Indian spices

What kind of parent are you? That sounds kind of harsh. Wait wait nobody said that to me yet. Not on my face at least. OK this is what happened last week. DD2 disobeyed DH. She did not do something that she had been asked to do regularly and was grounded. The punishment? she cannot read her favorite book that had kept her occupied night and day while everything else fell on the way side. She moped around a little bit and moved on to read other stuff. I intervened and asked him to go easy on her but he did not budge. Not that he is the punishing kind and rarely threatens with consequences but if he does he follows through.

I on the other hand threaten dire consequences all the time but rarely if ever follow through. So they have learned that coming from me it is all bark and no bite. DD in a moment of utter honesty even told me why my threats don't matter much. Reverse positions I would have give in in a couple of hours and she would have been back to her favorite book and to doing what I asked her not to do. It is all my parents' fault. They rarely if ever punished me and I seemed to have taken a leaf out of their parenting manual but with a lot more yelling and screaming. Shame on me yes. A tiny part of me justifies my behavior saying what is the worst that can happen. These small mischiefs are is no big deal. DH tends to disagree.




There lies the parenting conundrum. We try our best to show an united front and not contradict one another when there is an argument. If we show disunity the kids are very smart and learn to pitch one against the other and end up doing whatever they want to do.

So which camp do you fall into? Stand firm or wobbly?
Now on to the recipe,

Lamb is not something that we regularly and a rack of lamb more so. DH on the other hand is very fond of lamb and cooking a rack of lamb is something he has wanted for a while. This time on our visit to Whole Foods he picked one up. My only condition was it has to be spicy and he found the perfect recipe here.

We decided on using some Indian spices to jazz it up a bit. To our surprise the grilled meat came out soft and juicy and tasty and it was the best we have tasted in a long time. The ones I have tasted at restaurants tend to be chewy and not that very good.

It is very important to marinate the meat for at least 4 hours else the meat might not absorb all the spices.

Spicy Grilled Rack of Lamb with Indian Spices
Preparation Time:20 minutes + 8 hours marination
Cooking Time:30 - 45 minutes
Ingredients

For the marination
1. 1/2 onion sliced
2. 3 cloves of garlic chopped
3. 1 tbsp of grated fresh ginger
4. 3 tsp turmeric powder
5. 1 tbsp red chili powder
6. 1/2 inch stick of cinnamon
7. 1/2 cup of whisked yogurt
8. 1 tsp of pepper
9. 1 tsp of cumin powder
10. handful of chopped coriander leaves
11. rock salt (regular salt will work as well)
12. 1/2 tbsp lime juice
For the sauce
13. 2 tsp olive oil
14. Marinade saved

Method

1. Wash and dry the lamb and apply turmeric over it and let it sit.
2. Mix together all the ingredients under the marination section in a wide mouthed pan and apply it over the lamb. Now transfer the contents to a Ziploc bag and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. We left it for over 8 hours.
3. Preheat your gas or charcoal grill to about 350F. Gently remove the lamb from the marinade and wrap the bones with aluminum foil. Save the marinade.
4. Place the rack of lamb on the grill, let grill on one side for 20 minutes, turn over and grill for another 15 minutes or so till done.
5. For the sauce, As the lamb is grilling, heat a sauce pan and add the olive oil and when hot add the saved marinade and in medium heat slowly bring to a boil and cook for 10-12 minutes.
Serve lamb with brown rice and the sauce on the side.