Coconut mackerel curry with lemon rice
This delicious curry from Chennai, packed of flavours that are then tamed by the coconut. Mackerel is very popular southern India and is used regularly in coconut curries with tamarind to balance the flavours. Cut it into steaks as these keep the fish together and the bones add flavour to the gravy. Serve with lemon rice – nothing else is needed.
Mackererel curry
INGREDIENTS
2 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
15g garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
8g fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric
3/4-1 1/2 teaspoons red chilli powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
350ml water
450-500g whole mackerel, cleaned and cut into steaks 2.5cm thick
3-5 green chillies, left whole
1 1/2 teaspoons tamarind paste, or to taste
250ml coconut milk
salt, to taste
METHOD
Heat the oil in a large non-stick saucepan. Add the fenugreek, cumin seeds and 10 of the curry leaves and fry for 10 seconds. Add the onions and cook for about 6–8 minutes until golden.
Meanwhile, puree together the tomatoes, garlic and ginger and powdered spices. Add to the pan and cook for 8–10 minutes over a high heat or until you can see little droplets of oil on the sides of the masala. Add a splash of water at any point, if necessary.
Add the water, bring to a boil and then add the fish, green chillies and remaining curry leaves. Bring back to the boil and cook for 3–4 minutes. Stir in most of the tamarind paste but leave a little to add later. Once the fish is cooked, add the coconut milk. Stir well, taste and adjust the seasoning and sourness (adding the remainder of the tamarind paste if necessary) and add more water if you prefer a thinner curry
Lemon rice
This South Indian dish goes well with seafood and vegetables. Curry leaves are used frequently in this part of India. When you find a fresh bunch, put them to dry on a towel on top of the boiler, then place them in an airtight jar to use as needed.<img src="https://simonssauces.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/image2.jpg?w=300" alt="image
Ingredients 
2½ tbsp vegetable oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
pinch fenugreek seeds
1 tsp split chana dal (also called Bengal gram lentils)
1 tsp split black gram (also called urad dal or black lentil)
2-3 dried red chillies, left whole
1 rounded tsp chopped fresh ginger
¼ tsp ground turmeric
4 tbsp roasted peanuts
10 curry leaves, torn in half
salt, to taste
3 tbsp lemon juice, or to taste
350g/12oz freshly cooked basmati rice
Preparation method
Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and add the mustard and fenugreek seeds, the chana dal, black gram and the chillies and stir fry until lightly browned.
Add the ginger, ground turmeric, peanuts, curry leaves and salt, to taste, and cook for about 40 seconds.
Stir in the lemon juice and cook for another minute before adding the rice. Stir fry to heat through, being careful not to break up the grains too much.
To serve, place the rice onto serving plates. 
For more info don’t hesitate to contact me; simon.bingham@simons-sauces.com
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