Also Kerala fish curry, Meen mulakittathu, Meen vevichathu
Fish cooked in a clay pot in a fiery red sauce soured with kudampuli, finished with coconut oil and curry leaves.
What makes it meen curry
Kudampuli for sourness, not tamarind.
A clay pot, the manchatti.
Kashmiri chilli for colour, with shallots, ginger and garlic.
Coconut oil and curry leaves poured over at the end.
Where it comes from
Meen is fish in Malayalam, and along Kerala's coast and backwaters it's eaten at nearly every meal. The central Kerala version is red and sharp: no coconut milk, just chilli, shallots and kudampuli — dried, smoked Garcinia rind — cooked down in an earthenware pot.
It's made a day ahead when it can be: the sourness keeps it and the flavour deepens, and the pot itself is said to matter.
How it varies
Meen moilee
A gentle yellow version in coconut milk with turmeric, associated with Kochi — the name is sometimes said to come from the Portuguese.