Kerala Fish Curry

It is an irony that being a Goan my first post about Fish Curry is a Kerala style and not the often relished Goan style. However I have had this recipe filed for many months now and it was time to give it a try and send it as an entry to the RCI-Kerala event hosted by Curry Bazaar

Browsing through Kerala style fish curryI found that Keralites use a unique ingredient in their curries called Kudam-puli which imparts the sour flavor to the fish curry. Us Goans on the other hand use kokum (or Amsul as its called in Marathi) for this same purpose. Mishmash has a picture of this fruit ,but by first looks I think the two could very well be related.Any suggestions ?

Ingredients

2 filets of tilapia
1 medium onion -diced
1 inch ginger
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
7-8 curry leaves
1/2 cup coconut
kokum (soaked in water for few mins)
chilli powder
turmeric

Method

1. Cut the filets into bite size pieces and marinate these in turmeric ,chilli powder and salt
2. Grind to paste half of the onion,ginger,garlic,coconut,chilli powder,turmeric,4-5 fenugreek seeds and curry leaves
3. Heat oil.Make “tadka” of mustard seed and fenugreek seeds. Next,saute the onions and lastly add curry leaves.Fry till onion is translucent
4. Add the ground paste, followed by the soaked kokum.
5. Add turmeric,chilli powder and salt to taste
6. Add half cup water and let the curry boil
7. When the curry boils drop the pieces of fish into the curry and let it cook for 5-6 mins.Be careful to not stir too often because this will break the pieces.
8. Service with rice or chapatis

Initially I was apprehensive about the use of curry leaves in a fish curry,but I was wrong. The curry leaves and fenugreek impart the dish its unique flavor. DH devoured this dish.