Meen Varuthathu Recipe | Meen Porichathu Recipe | Kerala Fish Fry Recipe With Step By Step Photos And Video.

Meen varuthathu, also known as meen porichathu, is a popular fish preparation in Kerala, India. A fish fry can be served as an appetizer or as a side dish with jeera rice, pulao and other rice variants. Kerala matta rice, fish fry, vegetable thoran and a gravy is a common lunch menu in Kerala households. Despite the fact that there are many different ways to prepare a Kerala style fish fry, let's make one today. If you enjoy fish, this is a must-try recipe for you.

Meen Varuthathu or Meen Porichathu - About

Meen varuthathu is a popular fish preparation from Kerala. Another name of Kerala fish fry is meen porichathu. Varuthathu or porichathu in Malayalam means fried, while meen signifies fish.

A Kerala fish fry is always a spicy dish, with heat level ranging from mild to hot, depending on personal taste. People in some locations enjoy a hot and spicy fish fry, where as in others, a moderately spicy fish fry is preferred. The first step in making a fish fry is to marinate the fish pieces in chili, turmeric, salt and other spices. After that, it's deep fried in coconut oil. To make it more flavorful and eliminate the fishy scent, a few springs of curry leaves are added.

Every home in Kerala has its own fish fry recipe. For marination, some people uses only chili, turmeric, and salt, while other include coriander powder, pepper powder, cumin and other spices. In general, there is no specific recipe for a Kerala fish fry; any combination of this spices can be used for marination. The recipe I've included here is one of my favorites and I used seer fish today. However, you are free to choose any fish that is available to you.

Finally, feel free to browse through our other fish recipes, such as Kerala meen curry, meen mulakittathu, thakkali meen curry, fish tikki, thengapal meen curry, thenga aracha meen curry, and so on.

Meen Varuthathu - Professional tips

Kerala style meen varuthathu is a simple dish, only a few ingredients are required for its preparation. Hot chili powder is the first and most vital ingredient in a fish fry masala. However, making a fish fry hot isn't always necessary; you may alter the heat to your preferences. If you reduce the amount of hot chili powder, make sure to replace it with the same amount of Kashmiri chili powder, otherwise the masala won't be enough to coat the fish pieces.
This dish can be made with sardine, mackerel, Pearl spot, seer fish or any sort of fish. However, if using large chunks, allow time for the masala to enter the pieces; otherwise, the exterior portion will have enough spices but the inside portion would be white and bland.
Make three to four gashes on the surface if using large pieces. This will provide a pathway for the spices to move through. I'm not showing that step in this post since I used thin seer fish steaks today, but, the gashes should cut for all other fishes, especially those that are served whole, such as sardine, mackerel, and pearl spot.
The addition of curry leaves to a Kerala fish fry adds to its allure. It not only enhances the flavor of the food, as it does in other dishes, but it also prevents sticking and the fishy odor during frying.
This dish work well with shallow or deep frying, but the fish should be fried over medium heat to get best browning and infuse all the flavors. Don't forget to use coconut oil to achieve the original Kerala style taste and flavor.

How To Make Kerala Fish Fry

Meen Varuthathu | Meen Porichathu Recipe | How To Make Kerala Style Fish Fry

Spicy and flavorful fish fry

Preparation time: 30 minutes | Cooking time: 15 minutes | Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 kg seer fish (4 pieces) or any other soft fleshed fish pieces such as sardine, mackerel, pearl spot etc.
2 teaspoon hot chili powder (adjust to your taste)
1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder (optional, used to get bright red color)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
1 fresh lemon
Salt to taste
3 Springs of curry leaves
Coconut oil for frying

Meen Varuthathu Preparation With Step By Step Photos

I used 1/2 Kg r 4 steaks of a seer fish for today's fish fry. In Malayalam, the seer fish / queen fish is known as neymeen. Carefully cleaned the pieces in water without affecting their texture.
In a bowl, combine chili powder, Kashmiri chili powder, turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste and salt to make the spice mix marination.
Then squeeze lemon juice. The lemon juice will keep the fish soft while also adding a bit of tanginess.
Mix all the spices together using your hands or a spoon, then apply evenly to each fish pieces without breaking it.
A minimum of 20 minutes of resting time is required for the marinated fish. If you can keep it in the fridge overnight, that's even better. This will ensure that the spices have a nice invasion.
Heat one pan over high heat after the resting time has passed. Pour enough coconut oil for deep or shallow frying, depending on your preference.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the curry leaves once the oil has heated up. The spluttering sound will start right away, wait until they stop.
Place the marinated fish pieces carefully, leaving space between each one. You can either fry them over a medium or low flame. Slow cooking the fish gives it a consistent browning and crispiness.
Flip them carefully with a flat spatula once the bottom side is crisp and done. Make sure the parts don't break. The pieces will shatter if they are not cooked well enough or if they are flipped with a little spoon.
Remove from oil when the second side has reached the desired crispiness and serve immediately as a side dish or appetizer. If you're serving it as an appetizer, add a few onion rings on top.
Enjoy.