Sura Meen Puttu

This is my my mother's signature fish dish at home. Apart from making the best tasty fish curry, she prepares Sura Meen Puttu using shark or any flesh thick firm fish so that you get more of the puttu. It spicy, aromatic and rich from the coconut  and spice powder. I know it is time-consuming and the process described here are lengthy, but I guarantee you, it is worth all your effort in the kitchen. I am sharing what we cook in our kitchen at home. We cook it with love. 

Sura Meen Puttu 

Ingredients:

Sura Meen - 1 kg

Big onion - 3 

Whole garlic - 2

Green chilies - 2

Ginger - 3 inches piece

A few curry leaves

Grated coconut - 1/ 2 cup

Chopped coriander leaves - a handful

Salt : as needed

Vegetable oil or Indian gingerly oil - 4 tablespoons

To Temper:

Cinnamon -  1 inch piece (small piece is enough)

Fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon

Cloves - 3

To Make Special Spice Powder:

Raw rice - 1/2 cup

Dry red chilies (spicy one) - 8

Fennel seeds - 1 1/2 tablespoon

Cumin seeds - 1 tablespoon

Turmeric powder - 2 teaspoons

Method :

1. First, we will make a special spice powder for making Sura Meen Puttu. You need to heat a pan over a medium flame, to that add raw rice. Fry the rice without any oil until it puffs and sputters. It has to become very crispy brown in colour and you know that when it breaks easily in your hand. Keep the puffed rice aside.

2. Next, add the cumin, fennel and broken pieces of dry chilies. Fry for 1 or two minutes until you get nice roasted aroma. Make sure you don't burn the chilies. Grind puffed rice, cumin, fennel, dry red chilies and turmeric powder until they become fine powder. You can store this spice powder in an air tight container or a bottle in a fridge. 

Special Spice Powder

3. You can use any  fleshy fish for making this puttu. The fish should have thick firm flesh. I have used small variety of shark which I asked the fishmonger to peel off the skin and debone it. I marinated the pieces of fish with some salt and steamed until it cooked thoroughly.

4. The, flake off the steamed fish with a fork and remove any bones that may have stuck there. Now, to this cooked fish, add the special spice powder of about 7 tablespoons. (I like it spicy)

3. In a pan, pour four tablespoons of vegetable oil and when it's hot, add all the ingredients under the 'TO TEMPER' section, and then chuck in finely chopped onion, garlic, ginger and green chilies(all must be finely chopped) and a few curry leaves. You need to sauté lightly for 2 minutes.

Finely chopped onion, garlic, green chilies and ginger

4. Next, add the steamed fish coated in spicy powder. Season it with salt as per your taste. Give a good stir and cook for another 5 minutes. The fish is already been cooked so here we are trying to mix the spices and other ingredients to bring them together. 

Steamed fish pieces

5. Lastly, add freshly grated white part of the coconut and stir for another  5 minutes. You can sprinkle lavish amount of chopped coriander leaves in the end after switching off the flame. 

6. This dish is a best combo with sambar and piping hot rice. 

Abby

Thank you