Fish/ Paneer Chettinad

One of my latest favorites!

Ingredients:

• Spice Paste:
  • Cumin 1.5 tsp
  • Red chilies – 8- 10 ( Oh well, if you are using authentic Indian ones you may need 4-6)
  • Coriander seeds- 3 tsp
  • Fennel seeds- 1.5 tsp
  • Black Pepper- 1.5 tsp
  • Poppy seeds- 1.5 tsp
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 4 cm piece of ginger (I don’t know why length became a way of specifying ginger- anyway 4 cm length by maybe 1/2 cm thick and 2 cm wide)
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • grated coconut – 5 tbsp ( use fresh when you can –always!)
  • 5 cardamom (seeds and husk)
  • 2.5 cm cinnamon
  • 3 cloves
• 2 onions chopped
• 2 tomatoes chopped
• 3 tbsp oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1.5 tsp urad dal
• 10 curry leaves ( again, if you are lucky enough to get fresh authentic spicy leaves, you can use 6-8)
• coconut milk- 1/2 cup ( this is not usually used in traditional chettinad but I think it makes the dish beautifully smooth)
• 2s (salt & sugar) to taste

Recipe:

• Roast all ingredients of the spice paste over a warm (not hot) pan with 1 tsp oil. This is the most crucial part of this recipe, do not over heat the pan, do not over roast, 3-4 minutes is good- you will smell the lovely spices.
• Grind to a fine paste with 1/4 cup of warm water.
• Heat oil, add bay leaf, urad dal, curry leaves, as they begin to splutter.
• Add onions and let sweat for about 5 minutes
• Add spice paste  and cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat (I am serious about the lower temperature, otherwise it gets bitter)
• Add tomatoes and cook for another 5-7 minutes.
• Add paneer/ fish pieces. You could try Chicken ofcourse, I would season it with salt, turmeric, red chili powder. For Paneer, saute paneer cubes in oil and immerse at once in boiling hot water mixed with a pinch of salt and turmeric for about 10 minutes- they come out really soft!
• Add 2s(salt & sugar) to taste, and the coconut milk
• Bring to a boil, till the oil begins to separate. Resist from using very high heat to force a boil :)
• Patience pays- enjoy!

I think that substituting cashew nuts for poppy seeds may be a good idea!