Fish Molee | Fish in coconut milk | Mild keralan fish curry | Kukskitchen

Fish is an essential part of a malayali's dinner table. Being a coastal state you get a million varieties of fish, new ones emerging each season, some with very interesting names too. The way fish is cooked varies with where you are with in Kerala itself. Down south fish gets cooked with ground coconut together with vegetables like drumstick. Check out Trivandrum style fish curry here.

Today I would like to introduce you to fish molee which comes from the middle lands of Kerala. Fish molee is a mildly hot curry with mild flavours especially bringing out the goodness of fish itself. Traditionally fish like avoli (pomfret), karimeen (pearl spot) or neymeen (king fish) are used to prepare fish molee. The former two are extremely tasty, but not very kid-friendly due to the tiny fish bones. I tend to use white fish like cod, basa or sole. Personally I do not prefer salmon or tuna as the strong taste of their oils tend to over power the mild flavours of this curry.

Serving suggestion:

You can serve it as a first course with freshly baked bread or as a traditional breakfast along with appam. I served on this occasion alongside vattayappam shaped like idli.

A few things before we start: 

Coconut milk extractions can be made from fresh or frozen grated coconut by adding water and pressing hard through a sieve. The first extraction is called first milk which is thicker and richer. Add more water and press through sieve again and this milk will be lighter and is called second milk.

If using coconut milk powder, make thick coconut milk by mixing half a cup of coconut milk powder to  quarter cup of warm water and make thin coconut milk by mixing half a cup of coconut milk powder to a cup of warm water.

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Fish Molee

മീന്‌  മോലി 

Serves 8

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Ingredients

1. Fish - 1 kg

2. Skin of one dried red chilli - 1
    Turmeric - 1 tsp
    Garlic cloves - 1/2 clove

3. Garlic - 2 cloves
    Ginger - a one inch piece
    Onions - 2, medium sized
    Green chillies - 4

4. Coconut milk - thick - 1 1/2 cups
    Coconut milk - thin - 2 cups

5.  Tomatoes - 2, cut in rounds

6.  Lime juice - 1 tbsp
     Salt to taste

7. Oil - 3 tbsp

Method:

• Clean and cut fish into big pieces.
• Mix together (2) using a pestle and mortar
• Thinly slice ginger, garlic and onions and slit green chillies in half.
• Heat oil in a wok and saute (3) till just tender. 
• Add ground (2) and saute for 30 sec.
• Add 2 cups of thin coconut milk, lime juice and salt to taste.
• When this starts to boil, add fish and cook over slow flame for about half an hour till fish is cooked. 
• When done add the thick coconut milk, layer tomato rounds on top of the fish and gently bring to boil.
• Remove from hob and serve hot.

 Cheers Sherin Deepu