Meen Mulakittathu (Red chilli fish curry) and Chakka puzhukku (Mashed tender Jackfruit) - Kerala's delicacies

This is a typical Kottayam style fish curry prepared using red chillies and other spices,      mainly flavoured with cocum(tamarind). This curry tastes better next day, tastes  like pickle .
It goes well with rice, rotis, appam.  Main combination is Kappa (Tapioca)and meen mulakittathu. Here i have taken mashed jack fruit as a combo for this curry.
For this curry you could use king fish, tuna, seer fish, salmon, travelly, mackerel and sardine. I have taken Sardine this time.

Ingredients

Sardine - 1/2 kg (marinated with turmeric and salt)
Onion/Shallots - 1 cup thinly sliced
Fenugreek Seeds -1/4 Tspn
Garlic sliced - 4-5 cloves
Ginger sliced - 1 tbspn
curry leaves- 1-2 stems
turmeric Powder 1/2 -tspn
Red chilli -  5-6 nos
Coriander powder - 1 tbspn
Cocum (Kudam Puli)-2-3 pieces
water - as required
salt to taste
coconut oil 2 1/2 tbspn

Soak cocum (kudampuli) in luke warm water.
Grind red chillies,coriander powder , 2-3 shallots and fenugreek seeds to a fine paste.

Heat oil in a pan add chopped onion, ginger, garlic and few curry leaves. Cook on medium heat till it turns brown.Now pour in  chilli paste. Stir to combine with the oil and let the masala cooks well keep sauteing till it turns dark and you see oil on top.
This is a very spicy curry. So adjust chilli powder according to your spice tolerance level, you could also add kashmiri chilli powder for more color and neutralize spiciness.

Now add soaked cocum (kudampuli), you can add its water also. Add salt, bring this to boil and then add fish. Add  water, make  sure that fish is fully covered in the gravy. Cook until you get a thick gravy. Once cooked,switch off the flame , add coconut oil over the fish curry and curry leaves to get that  typical aroma and taste of kerala's fish curry.

Mashed Jack fruit (chakka puzhukku/chakka vevichathu)

Ingredients

Unripe jackfruit (I bought 2 pkts cleaned and cut jackfruit from indian store)
Grated coconut – 1.5 cup
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Garlic sliced –  2 – 3 nos
Green chillies – 2 – 3 nos
Curry leaves – 1 – 2 stems
Red chilli - 2 nos
mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Coconut oil – 1 tbsp
Salt – To taste

Cook jackfruit adding turmeric powder, salt and sliced garlic. Cover and cook until done. Meanwhile grind coconut and green chillies to a coarse mixture. When jackfruit is cooked add coconut-chilli mix, coconut oil and curry leaves to it and combine well. Mash it with wooden ladle or with back of spoon. Season it with red chillies and mustard seeds.

Serve  hot with mulaku chammanthi(Red chilli chutney),thenga chammanthi (coconut chutney),mango pickle or fish curry.