Mackerel in coconut milk

Name: Mackerel in coconut milk
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 10 ml/2 tsp garlic purée; 1 small onion, finely chopped; 5–10 ml/1–2 tsp chilli powder; 2.5 ml/½ tsp ground turmeric; 30 ml/2 tbsp sunflower oil or light olive oil; 2.5 ml/½ tsp black mustard seeds; 30–45 ml/2–3 tbsp tamarind juice; 8–10 curry leaves; Plain Boiled Rice, to serve; 675 g/172 lb cleaned mackerel; 75 g/3 oz creamed coconut, chopped, or 250 ml/8fl oz/1 cup coconut cream; 5 ml/1 tsp salt, or to taste

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Complete Indian Regional Cookbook

By Mridula Baljekar

Published 2017

About

Mackerel is a popular fish in the south of India and its firm texture makes it ideal for curries. This dish, Ayila Vattichathu, comes from Chennai and has the contrasting tastes of tart tamarind and sweet, creamy coconut. Here the mackerel is cooked on the bone, which adds to the flavour of the dish.

Ingredients

675 g/172 lb cleaned mackerel
30 ml/2

Asia
India
Fish course
Starter
Pescatarian
Gluten-free
Kerala

Method

Cut the fish into thick steaks about 5cm/2in thick, then cut into chunks.
Heat the oil in a large, shallow frying pan over a medium heat and add the mustard seeds. As soon as they start to pop, add the onion and fry until it begins to br