Kerala style fish mappas or meen mappas is a Syrian Christian delicacy, also known as Kottayam Style Meen Mappas wherein the fish- usually a white meat fish – is cooked in creamy coconut milk with tomatoes.
I have used Atlantic Pollock here because I wanted to use a different fish than the usual Pomfret or Tilapia or Butterfish for this dish. It worked absolutely brilliantly, far far better than I had even imagined. It’s important to note that patting the fillets dry before cutting into chunks and cooking keeps them whole i.e. they dont disintegrate when making the curry.
The fact that is has coconut and tomatoes makes it an ideal summer curry. It’s absolutely delicious with rice but I personally prefer to eat it with Kerala Porotta.
Ingredients
- 300 gms Basmati rice
- 1 tbsp Sunflower or Vegetable Oil
- 2 Large Onions, sliced
- 2 Garlic Cloves, chopped
- 450 gms Tomatoes, cut into chunks
- 3 tbsp Tikka Curry Paste (Recipe below or just buy ready made)
- 400 gms Coconut Milk
- Fishvish Pollock Fillets – 500 gms pack, thawed, patted dry and cut into 1½ inch chunks
- Coriander Leaves, roughly chopped
Method
- Put a large saucepan of water on to boil and cook the rice following pack instructions.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, wide saucepan over a medium heat and add the onions. Cook for 5-10 mins until softened and starting to colour.
- Add the garlic and tomatoes and fry for 2 mins.
- Add the curry paste, fry for 2 mins more, then pour in the coconut milk and bring to the boil.
- Add the fish to the pan and simmer gently for 5-8 mins until just cooked through.
- Turn off the heat. Sprinkle the coriander over the curry and serve with the rice.
Tikka Curry Paste Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 1⁄2 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1⁄2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp dried mint
- 1⁄4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 3 drops red food coloring (optional)
- 3 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
- 2⁄3 cup wine vinegar
- 2⁄3 cup vegetable oil
Method
- Grind coriander and cumin seed to a fine powder.
- Add all remaining spices, mint, salt and stir well.
- Mix in lemon juice, food color, wine vinegar, and 2 tbs water to make a thin paste.
- Heat the oil in pan, stir fry paste for 10 minutes until all water is absorbed.
- When oil rises to the top, the paste is cooked.
- Allow to cool before storing in air tight jars.
Bijal Patel
Co-Founder Fishvish
Hardcore food junkie,
loves to cook for his wife.