Aamshe Teekshe (Mackerel Curry)

Roughly translated Amshe stands for sour and Teekshe stands for spicy. This is a typical Goan/Manglorean fish curry generally made with mackerel. We had prepared this dish when Mom was here. We found some very good mackerel and just could not resist having rice and this curry.

Ingredients

2 medium size mackerels - cut into about 1/2 inch slices - Mackerel is called bangda in India

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon turmeric

12 byadgi mirchi - a dried chilli found in Karnataka, India - you can get it in an Indian store here

1/2 cup fresh/frozen coconut

2 teaspoons tamarind paste - I used the bottled tamarind paste

1/2 onion - finely chopped

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

5 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons coconut oil - you can use any other oil, but coconut oil gives that coastal taste

salt to taste

2 to 3 kokums - "kokum"

Method

Clean the mackerel and apply the 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon turmeric to all the pieces evenly and let it sit aside.

In a blender grind to a very fine paste the dried chillis, garlic, coriander seeds, coconut and the tamarind paste. Add enough water to get a thick paste. Remember, do not add a lot of water while grinding - you will not get a smooth paste with lots of water.The paste should be very smooth - no granules.

In a karahi add the coconut oil. To this add the chopped onions and fry them till they get transparent. To this add the ground paste and bring it to a boil. Add water to get a nice gravy consistency. When the gravy starts to boil, add the mackerel pieces to it. Cover and let it simmer on medium heat for about 15 minutes. Then check if the fish is cooked. Be very careful with the spoon because the fish is very delicate and we do not want the fish to powder in the gravy. Add salt if required and then add the kokum.

Serve hot with rice.