Receta Grilled Fish (Karimeen/Pearl Spot)
I hope everybody had a wonderful Easter with family and friends. If someone asks me which fish I like most, I would shout out karimeen/pearspot at the top of my voice....it is that one fish we the people of Kottayam relish.
Today Homey brought some fresh karimeen/pearlspot from the market......so being calorie conscious....hmmm.. after Easter indulgence....I thought why not grill it rather than frying it in oil....I have a new nonstick grill pan...so I marinated the fish and kept in fridge for about 30 min...
The special twist in this is the use of kokum juice or kudampuli juice....which is otherwise known as fish tamarind...coorgies call it kachumpuli or pulineer...it is just kudampuli cooked with water and made it into a thick black sauce....it is said that it lowers cholesterol ....so adding half a tsp to anything before frying is really good on the healthier side. It is one thing that I would recommend if anyone visits Mercara, Coorg....buy a bottle and it will be good as new for 2 to 3 years....now if you don't have kachumpuli....just boil some kudampuli with water for sometime and strain to get the thick black sauce and it is ready to spicen up your marinates.
Ingredients:
Karimeen/pearspot: 2 large, cleaned and make diagonal cuts into it.
Kashmiri chilly powder: 2 tsp.
Ginger-garlic paste: 1/2 tsp.
Kokum/kudampuli juice: 1/2 tsp.
Salt: 1/2 tsp.
Method:
1. I took two cleaned fresh fish and cut small diagonal stripes into it.
2. Then I took 2 tsp of kashmiri red chilly powder (if using ordinary chilly powder please reduce 1 tsp), 1/2 tsp kudampuli juice or kachampuli, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste.
3. Mix it with water.
4. Rub it lavishly into the fish and leave it in the fridge for at least 30 min.
5. After 30 min heat your grill pan with 1 or 2 tbsp of oil.
6. Gently and lovingly place the fish on the sizzling pan.
7. Cover it with the lid and let is sizzle away for another 10 min.
8. Remove the lid and and turn the fish over..and sizzle away for another 10 min....oops!! I forgot to take the pic of frying the fish on the other side...don't worry I have another pic....bear with me.
9. Serve hot with onion and lime.
YUM!! I am attacking these almost oil-free fish....ALONE!!!
Note: If it is troublesome to take kodampul juice....you can just grind one small piece of kudumpuli along with the masala in a grinder with little water to make the paste.