A very popular and mouth watering Kerala fish recipe which I love. The base of this curry is red chilly powder and a special tamarind called “kudampuli”.

So, this Kerala red fish (mackerel) curry popularly known as ” ayala curry ” will be really HOT and TANGY. I still cannot get the taste of my mom’s ayala curry out of my mind. Traditionally any fish curry in Kerala is cooked in an earthen clay pot but if you don’t have one, use any pan available in your kitchen. Ayala or mackerel is very versatile when it comes to cooking. You can fry it, roast it and make curry with or without coconut.
Ayala (mackerel) is a fish that is commonly available and very affordable in Kerala. It is a fish very dear to the Malayali which is often cooked more than twice in a week in different ways. Fish is one of the most prominent protein sources of people’s diet ranging from poor to upper class in Kerala.
Now as the nutrition part goes, ayala or mackerel is one of the healthiest oily fish which is recommended by many health experts as mackerel ( ayala ) is rich in omega-3 and several vitamins and minerals.

Try out below fish recipes too :-

Ayala Curry / Kerala Red Fish Curry Recipe / Mackerel curry

Recipe by Neha NairCourse: MainCuisine: Indian, KeralaDifficulty: Medium

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

This Kerala red fish (mackerel) curry popularly known as ” Ayala curry ” is a curry made from mackerel fish in a very hot and tangy sauce made from red chilly powder and Kerala tamarind.

Ingredients

1 kg of fish preferably mackerel / ayala cut into medium size pieces
1 medium onion chopped
1 inch of ginger, chopped
5-6 garlic, chopped
1 sprig of curry leaves
1/4 tsp of fenugreek seeds
1 tsp of mustard seeds
2 Tbsp of Kashmiri chilly powder
1 tsp of coriander powder
2-3 tsp of hot red chilly powder
1 tsp of turmeric powder
2-3 pieces of fish tamarind / gambooge
Salt to taste
2 Tbsp of oil preferably coconut

Directions

Marinate fish ( ayala ) with half of turmeric and salt for 15 min.
Soak tamarind in warm water for 15 min and set aside.
In a hot pan, pour half of the oil and add ginger, onion and garlic and saute till onion becomes translucent.
In a small bowl, mix both of the chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder and add a little water to make a paste.
Now add above paste to the onion mixture and stir till the masala releases oil.
Then transfer the onion mixture in a food processor and grind it to a nice paste.
Now heat remaining oil in the same pan again, splutter mustard seeds then add fenugreek seeds and curry leaves, saute for 30 sec.
Put the ground masala back in the pan along with enough water to cover ayala (mackerel) pieces and let it come to boil.
Now add fish (ayala), salt and tamarind along with its water and simmer for 15 minutes or until the fish is cooked through. Ayala curry is done.

Notes

Do not serve this fish ( ayala ) curry immediately. Let it rest for at least 1-2 hrs for maximum taste. Ayala curry tastes best if it is served next day.
The best pairing for ayala curry is Kappa (mashed tapioca) but this Kerala style fish curry also goes well with rice and Tomato moru curry .
Remove tamarind from the Ayala curry after few hours to prevent it from becoming extremely tangy.