Meen Peera (Fish with Grated Coconut)

Wednesday, August 15th, 2007

Filed Under India - Kerala, Seafood, Side Dish - Dry

Meen Peera is a traditional Kerala dish popular in central Kerala where I am from. The preparation is very similar to thoran, made with fish instead of vegetables, and fish tamarind (kudampuli) added for sourness. This dish is usually made with the small varieties of whole fresh water fish available in Kerala. Since cleaning small fish is such a pain, you could always use fish filets in this recipe, which is what I’ll be doing after my mom leaves. But this time we picked up some smelt from the Asian market, and the taste was very authentic!

Ingredients

1 lb smelt or some other small variety (or use filets cut into small pieces)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
salt to taste
1.5 cups grated coconut
2 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp diced garlic
10-12 green chillies (or to taste)
2-3 pieces kudampuli (fish tamarind/cocum)
a few curry leaves
1 cup thinly sliced shallots
For Seasoning
- 1.5 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp thinly sliced shallots
- 2-3 dry red chillies
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
- a few curry leaves

Method

Soak the kudampuli in a cup of water for about 15 minutes.
Place all the ingredients including the fish in a deep earthenware vessel or a heavy bottomed pan. Add the soaked kudampuli along with the water to the vessel and mix well.
Bring the contents to a boil, and cook on medium heat with the lid on till the fish pieces are cooked through.
Remove the lid and heat till most of the liquid is absorbed.
In a separate pan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the shallots, red chillies and curry leaves and saute till the onions start to brown.
Add the fish mixture to the pan and saute till completely dry.
Serve warm with rice.

Reminder

Remember, the fruit of the month is Lychee! Have you figured out what to make with Lychees yet? Check out this post for some recipe ideas and details on how to participate!You have till the 25th to come up with a recipe!

That’s it folks. We are off to Niagara Falls and Toronto tomorrow. Well, it is an unwritten rule that all Indian parents visiting the US have to see the Niagara Falls. I am totally not into sightseeing trips, but we did this last year with the in-laws, and I have to say it was an impressive sight! Anyway, I’ll see you all early next week!

Happy Independence Day!

Comments

30 Responses to “Meen Peera (Fish with Grated Coconut)”

sra on August 15th, 2007 5:32 am

Never heard of kudampuli being called fish tamarind, but it’s such a good ‘translation’ I understood right away!
Jyothsna on August 15th, 2007 6:55 am

Enjoy your holiday, Sig!
indosungod on August 15th, 2007 10:31 am

Sig, Meen Peera looks delicious, smelt is one of my favorite fish, we usually cook it in a watery sauce. I a drooling this early in the morning. Not good!

Oh you are off to your Niagara Piligrimage, we finished ours and are sufficiently purified :)) Enjoy it is well worth the cross county trek even if you just did it last year!
Richa on August 15th, 2007 12:32 pm

hey, is fish tamarind, cocum? or is that just a substitution you gave? this is the first time i heard a spice called fish tamarind Enjoy these beutiful dishes & sights till ur parents are here, then back to the routine…
Happy Independence Day, sweetie!
Mishmash ! on August 15th, 2007 12:44 pm

haa…this is one of my fav’s…..I can have one full meal just with this dish….but i like very small bite size pieces in mine….

So enjoy the pilgrimage

Shn
Asha on August 15th, 2007 12:47 pm

Looking at all these fish dishes,I am thinking of cooking one too,may be I will!:))
Looks yum! Enjoy the trip. We are to the beach for 3 days too!:)
musical on August 15th, 2007 3:09 pm

Hey Sig, enjoy the lil’ vacation ;). Even if you don’t particularly enjoy sight-seeings, i am sure you’ll enjoy this one.

Happy Independence day, and hugs to you,
musical.
shilpa(AR) on August 15th, 2007 3:40 pm

One more my kind of dish Sig. I have seen this fish here, but my mom is very particular about “known fish”. So we tried some pomfret last time. Now that you have approved these fishes, I am going to try this soon. My hubby is a great fan of seafood (I am a chicken fan). I love your fish recipes, they are very similar to Konkani fish dishes. Lots of coconut and all…

Niagara and parents…I totally agree. Its a must for all the parents who visit US. If they go back without visiting Niagara, its a big disappointment for them too. We also went there with my parents and they totally enjoyed it. Enjoy your trip dear.
SMN on August 15th, 2007 3:44 pm

Hey Sig nice blog u hv very impressive.. i liked ur Car very much.. v hv in India Swift d same model.. I m lov wth ur car.. liked ur recipes..
Anita on August 15th, 2007 4:39 pm

Now I want to get that earthenware pot…I am so happy that you will gradually tell us about all the yum authentic Kerala food…God’s own country with food fit for them!
sunita on August 15th, 2007 5:32 pm

Love the dish…cleaning smaller fish is indeed a hassle, but don’t you think it’s worth it…well, at least just once in a while
Rina on August 15th, 2007 7:31 pm

Hi Sig,

The combination of your trip “Niagara falls and Toronto” are some of the posts in my blog ‘blessed’. You can visit my blog to those posts.

Welcome to Toronto!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m still working on my blogs, so the I didn’t share my url with the public yet.

I once left coments on your wedding anniversary post.

Once again, you have a lovely blog there.
Sia on August 15th, 2007 8:50 pm

hAPPY i-DAY SWEETIE:) TIME FOR ME TO GOTO BED, WILL COME N CHECK UR POST IN DETAIL TOM
Cynthia on August 15th, 2007 9:47 pm

I think I am going to have to take a trip to kerala to feast on all these delightful fish dishes

Happy Independence!
Saju on August 15th, 2007 10:49 pm

I am a true fishtarian, great recipe me, I am sure to try it.
Anh on August 15th, 2007 11:47 pm

Sig, I love this recipe!!! Defenitely will try it.

Have a good trip!!!
Rachna on August 16th, 2007 12:19 pm

Hey have a nice trip and bring back pictures
Sandeepa on August 16th, 2007 4:05 pm

Oooooh I love this. We have a similar dish, diff being we fry the fish and no kudampuli

Enjoy Niagra & Toronto
Padma on August 16th, 2007 7:08 pm

Jus had been to the Niagara pilgrimage (well said) as my IL’s visited us…enjoy the tour Meen Peera looks delicious … even I am confused, is it plain tamarind or cocum?
Sukanya Ramkumar on August 16th, 2007 7:34 pm

This fish sounds so different…. Never tried before….Nice picture….Happy Independence Day!
Poonam on August 17th, 2007 2:12 pm

I like the picture! Great recipe!
musical on August 20th, 2007 3:41 am

Oh Sig, that tomato roast was yummy! and thats an understatement!!

hugs,
musical.
Mandira on August 21st, 2007 3:00 am

Meen Peera looks droolworthy Sig, I have to try it soon. Too bad, we missed you at Niagara! It would have been fun to do a blogger meet up along with the pilgrimage
Nags on August 22nd, 2007 7:43 am

been a while.. hope all is well..
Sig on August 23rd, 2007 4:38 am

Hi all, thanks for your lovely words… Sorry about the confusion between Kudampuli and tamarind,

Kudampuli is also known as Fish Tamarind, at least in some of the cookbooks I have. So no, I didn’t mean regular tamarind
Nags on August 23rd, 2007 6:09 am

good to see you back in action. looking forward to the afam round up
Susan on August 23rd, 2007 6:29 pm

The combination of spices in this dish is fantastic. I’ve made fish with a coconut milk sauce and shredded coconut sprinkled for garnish, but never anything like this. Thanks for the idea, Sig.

PS–How’s the Mini?
Alka on March 8th, 2008 1:28 pm

Hi Sig,

Thanks for the great restaurant reviews and recipes. We live in Vancouver (Canada), and often make the 3 hour drive in the reverse direction, so its great to know where to go for good eats.

I have a question for you (or any of the Malayali food bloggers out there): what is the difference between kokum/cocum and kodampoli? I’ve managed to track out down kokum here in Vancouver, but no one has even heard of kodampoli. Is there somewhere in Seattle where you can get kodampoli? Would love to hear from you.

Cheers,

Alka

Hi Alka,for the longest time I thought kokum was kudampuli too, but they are totally different… I have seen Kudampuli at Mayuri, an Indian grocery store in Redmond. 2560 152nd Ave NE, Redmond, WA 98052.
Alakananda Chatterjee on March 9th, 2008 11:13 am

Hi Sig,

Thanks so much for your prompt reply. I will definitely check out Mayuri on my next trip south. As a Bong, your Kerala fish dishes are close to my heart and I can’t wait to try them out once I gather the ingredients.

On another note, feel free to contact me on your next trip to Vancouver or if you have questions about the restaurants here.

Thanks again!
Kudampuli (Gambooge) : Live To Eat on April 3rd, 2008 9:53 pm

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