Kottayam Fish/Meen Moilee

As I promised last week, I’ll share this week, the recipe for Kottayam’s special fish curry, Fish/Meen Moilee. As I kickstarted the theme of no-ferment pancake/dosa varieties of all 4 southern states for this month, I posted Kerala Malabar Pathiri and Mix-veg Neypathiri for the last 2 weeks. As an accompaniment, this Fish Moilee is an excellent match for these flatbreads- Pathiri and Neypathal/Porichapathiri.

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What is Fish moilee? Almost every fish curry in Kerala is spiced up with red chilli powder and pepper which imparts red colour to the gravy. Only this fish curry, will be mild in flavour as they are spiced up with little green chillies and has a pleasing bright yellow colour imparted by the turmeric powder. Yet, this fish moilee is a unique fish curry that stands apart from other fish curries in Kerala. In short, this Meen Moilee is a stew kind of curry, which is creamy, coconut-ty, and subtly flavoured. Creamy texture from coconut milk, slight sourness from lemon, nutty flavour from coconut oil with understated spices. In a nutshell, it’s a delicacy and should not be missed.

History of its name and origin- it has an interesting story behind its invention. During the Portuguese colonization, this delicacy was created by a Keralite woman named Molly/Moilee to please the Portuguese’s palate. They couldn’t handle the heat of red chillies and peppers in Kerala’s fish curries. This dish came as bliss from this lady who prepared a fish stew with little green chillies and black pepper, predominantly with coconut milk which had subtle flavours and was super creamy. Portuguese were so gratified that they named this dish after this lady, Fish Molly/Moilee. Keralites call it Meen Moilee, where meen translates to Fish.

It requires minimal ingredients and can be prepared instantly with minimal preparation. The only effort to be put in is for the coconut milk preparation. Rest is breezy. Saying that, let’s jump into the preparation.

Clean the fish and pat dry it thoroughly using kitchen tissue to absorb extra moisture. Add 2 tsp lemon juice to the fish and apply evenly on both sides, let it sit for 5 minutes.

Prepare a paste with 1 tsp black pepper powder, ½ tsp turmeric powder, ½ tsp salt, and 1 tsp lemon juice.

Smear this uniformly onto the fish. Let it marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes or more.

After the given time, shallow fry it in medium flame for 2 minutes on each side. Fry in coconut oil to impart an earthy flavour to the fish.

Transfer the remaining coconut oil from the frying pan to a wide-bottomed pan. Temper with ¼ tsp of fennel seeds, 1” cinnamon, and 2 cardamoms.

Then add 1 cup of sliced onion, a little salt, and sauté for a couple of minutes or till it turns slight brown.

Prepare a paste of ginger, garlic, and green chillies, and 2 tbsp of this paste.

Stir well, then close and cook for a minute to get rid of the raw smell.

Open, stir it, then add ½ cup of sliced tomato along with ½ tsp of turmeric powder.

Mix well, then add 1 ½ cup thin coconut milk.

To this add the fried fish.

Do not use a ladle to mix, instead gently swirl the pan to coat the gravy onto the fish.

Close and cook for 5 minutes on medium flame. After 5 minutes, open and flip the fish gently.

Finally add 1 cup thick coconut milk, ½ tsp black pepper powder, and a pinch of garam masala.

Again, swirl the pan and mix it. Let it simmer for 2 minutes on low flame. Later, switch off the flame. Add the remaining ½ cup of tomato slices, swirl, and mix, then close for a minute.

Finally, add ¾-1 tsp of vinegar (or lemon juice).

Creamy, coco-nutty, subtly flavoured Kottayam special Fish Moilee is ready to be served with Pathiri, Neypathiri, Mappilai samba appam, and Palak poori.

Creamy texture from coconut milk, slight sourness from lemon, nutty flavour from coconut oil with understated spices. In a nutshell, it’s a delicacy, not to be missed.

Recipe card

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 16- 18 minutes

Cuisine: South Indian, Kerala

Category: Curries

Serves: 4-5

Author: Manimala

Ingredients:

For Marination-

Fish – ½ kg

Lemon juice – 3 tsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Black pepper powder – 1 tsp

Salt – ½ tsp

Coconut oil – to fry

For gravy-

Coconut oil – as required

Fennel seeds – ¼ tsp

Cinnamon – 1”

Cardamom – 2

Sliced onion – 1 cup

Ginger+garlic+green chilli paste – 2 tbsp

Sliced Tomato – 1 cup

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Thin Coconut milk – 1 ½ cup

Thick Coconut milk – 1 cup

Black pepper powder – ½ tsp

Garam masala – a pinch

Vinegar – ¾ – 1 tsp

Instructions-

1. Clean the fish and pat dry it thoroughly using kitchen tissue to absorb extra moisture.
2. Add 2 tsp lemon juice to the fish and apply evenly on both sides, let it sit for 5 minutes.
3. Prepare a paste with 1 tsp black pepper powder, ½ tsp turmeric powder, ½ tsp salt, and 1 tsp lemon juice.
4. Smear this uniformly onto the fish. Let it marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes or more.
5. After the given time, shallow fry it in medium flame for 2 minutes on each side. Fry in coconut oil to impart an earthy flavour to the fish.
6. Transfer the remaining coconut oil from the frying pan to a wide-bottomed pan. Utilize it
7. Temper with ¼ tsp of fennel seeds, 1” cinnamon, and 2 cardamoms, then add 1 cup of sliced onion, a little salt, and sauté for a couple of minutes or till it turns slight brown.
8. Prepare a paste of ginger, garlic, and green chillies, and 2 tbsp of this paste.
9. Stir well, then close and cook for a minute to get rid of the raw smell.
10. Open, stir it, then add ½ cup of sliced tomato along with ½ tsp of turmeric powder.
11. Mix well, then add 1 ½ cup thin coconut milk. To this add the fried fish.
12. Do not use a ladle to mix, instead gently swirl the pan to coat the gravy onto the fish.
13. Close and cook for 5 minutes on medium flame.
14. After 5 minutes, open and flip the fish gently.
15. Finally add 1 cup thick coconut milk, ½ tsp black pepper powder, and a pinch of garam masala.
16. Again, swirl the pan and mix it. Let it simmer for 2 minutes on low flame.
17. Later, switch off the flame. Add the remaining ½ cup of tomato slices, swirl, and mix, then close for a minute. Finally, add ¾-1 tsp of vinegar (or lemon juice).
18. Creamy, coco-nutty, subtly flavoured Kottayam special Fish Moilee is ready to be served with Pathiri, Neypathiri, Mappilai samba appam, and Palak poori. Creamy texture from coconut milk, slight sourness from lemon, nutty flavour from coconut oil with understated spices. In a nutshell, it’s a delicacy, not to be missed.

Notes:

• You can try it with any kind of fish steak, preferably with less bone or with center bone.
• While marinating vinegar can be substituted for lemon. If you are using vinegar, reduce the quantity, as it’ll be more pungent than lemon juice.
• Coconut oil complements the flavour of coconut milk. You can replace it with other oils as well.
• Split 1 cup of sliced tomatoes into 2 portions, add the first half while sautéing the gravy, second portion at the end.
• To prepare 1 cup thick coconut milk and 1 ½ cup thin coconut milk, you’ll need 2 cups of freshly grated coconut. Pro-tip to get efficiently more milk from coconut is to soak the grated coconut in hot water for a while.
• After adding fish, do not use the ladle. Only swirl the pan gently, this avoids the fish from breaking.