Ayala Curry/ Kerala Style Mackerel curry (Ayala mulakittathu)

I love this deliciously soft fish, fried, curry, molly, anything.  Here is a very simple Ayala curry recipe passed on to me from my mum.

Here is a cut and paste pic of Indian Mackerel for those who are confused of what I am talking about.

Ingredients:

Mackerel cut into medium sized pieces- 1/2 kg
Oil- 1 tablespoon
Garlic- 2 big cloves
Tomato- 1 big
Ginger 1 tablespoon (crushed in a pestle and mortar)
Green Chillies- 2 (cut lengthwise)
Curry leaves- 2 or 3 springs

For Grinding:

Chilli powder- 2 tablespoon (I used kashmiri Chilli powder)
Coriander powder- 1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder- 1/4 teaspoon
Fenugreek powder- 1/2 teaspoon
Tamarind- 1 goosebury size
Shallots- 2

Preparation:

Put all ingredients under "grinding in amixer grinder with little water and make a fine paste.
Heat oil in a manchatti and sauté the garlic until brown and then add the ground paste. When the oil starts to separate, add the cubed tomatoes.  When the tomatoes are done, add a cup of boiled water to  and allow the gravy to boil very well. Add fish pieces at this stage and close the pan with the lid. Open the lid after 5 minutes and add crushed ginger and green chillies. Close the lid and let it cook on a medium flame for about 10 minutes. Now open the lid once again and add curry leaves. Let the curry to simmer in the low flame for another 5 minutes.

Fish  curries tend to taste better if kept overnight in the manchatti.