Fish simmered in coconut milk with onion, ginger- garlic, pepper and tomatoes.Appam with fish molee is a favorite of every malayalee. An all time dream breakfast!! It goes well with Idiyappam and bread also. This recipe is adapted from my mom-in-law. One of my favorite recipe from her collection. Pomfret, Pearlspot, King fish and seer fish are few preferred fishes for this dish.
Ingredients
- ½ kg fish
Marination
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
Gravy
- 5 numbers clove
- 2 numbers cinnamon (1 inch stick)
- 2 numbers cardamom
- 1 number onion (medium)
- 1 cup onion (small)
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 4 numbers green chilli
- salt
- 1.5 tbsps ginger garlic paste
- 1 ½ tsps pepper powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon fennel powder (perinjeerakam powder)
- 2 numbers tomato
- 2 cups coconut milk medium thick
- 1 cup coconut milk (thick)
Garnish
- 2 numbers onion (small)
- 1 tablespoon cashew nut
- curry leaves
- ½ number tomatoes
Instructions
- Clean fish pieces well and marinate it with turmeric powder, salt, ginger garlic, pepper powder and lime juice( listed under marination). Keep it aside for 10 minutes.
- Heat oil in a flat pan. Shallow fry the fish pieces for 2 minutes on one side at medium flame. Keep it aside.
- Thinly slice onion, small onion and green chili.
- Heat oil in a pan. You can use the same oil used for frying fish. Splutter clove, cinnamon and cardamom. ** If you are using same pan to prepare gravy, remember to remove excess oil from the pan.
- Add sliced onion, small onion, green chili, curry leaves and salt into it. Saute it well until onion is soft. ** You can partially replace small onion with regular onion also. Small onion always gives a better taste.
- Add ginger and garlic paste and saute well. Add pepper powder and fennel powder and saute well.
- Add medium thick coconut milk. Adjust salt in the gravy.
- Then add fried fish and thinly sliced tomatoes. Make sure that fish pieces and tomatoes are immersed in the gravy. Cook for around 15 minutes in medium flame until fish and tomatoes are done.
- Cashew paste is optional. Soak 1 tablespoon cashew in 2 tablespoon hot water for 15 minutes. Grind it to a smooth paste.
- Add thick coconut milk and cashew paste. Stir it carefully and bring it to boil.
- Garnish - Fry small onion, cashew and curry leaves. Decorate with the prepared garnish and sliced tomatoes. Serve it with Appam or Idiyappam or bread. Enjoy 🙂
Looks yummy!!!Authentic kerala dish...Will try it soon and give you the feedback!!!
Thanks Rakesh! Lemme know how it turns out for you.
Is the print button working? Have tried it twice, but nothing is happening, not sure if it is me or a problem with the site.
Also, just wondering if “pepper powder” is supposed to be used in both the marinade and the cooking, I thought that chili powder was usually used in the marinade and wanted to check.
Finally, you mention aniseed powder in the cooking directions, but it is not included in the ingredients, so how much of is added?
Thanks, sorry for all the questions, Bindu
Sorry Bindu. Print button is not working. I will correct it soon.
Pepper powder is used in both marination and cooking. In fish molly, chilli powder is not used.
I have corrected this. It’s aniseed powder / fennel powder/ perinjeerakam powder. I have added the measurements for it.