Manga Meen Kulambu | Raw Mango Fish Curry | Black Pomfret Curry | Vaaval Meenu Kulambu

Raw mango fish curry, is a spicy and drool-worthy curry, prepared with any fish variety and some raw mango slices. This curry is such an authentic South Indian recipe that has awesome flavors in it. I tasted this curry lately after marriage and fell in love with it, finally after learning the recipe I make it quite often when I get raw mangoes and pomfret fish together. Adding raw mango to the fish curry enhances the flavor of the curry and the aroma is just excellent. Just pour a ladle of this curry to rice and taste it, am sure the next moment you will fall in love for this curry, it just tastes so good. I usually make this curry and serve it with boiled eggs and Chettinad fish fry. And its the tastiest platter ever, nothing can beat an authentic Indian dish. Here in this recipe you can use any kind of raw mangoes, but check the sourness before using it in the curry and adjust the addition of tamarind according to it. Tamarind and raw mangoes should be equally balanced to get the perfect flavor or else the curry will become too tangy. But in case if the curry becomes tangy you can still manage it, that's the most wonderful part of this curry, see the tips section for more ideas. I used kili mooku mango and it was not very tangy so I had to balance it with tamarind. I chose the big black pomfret (Vavval) to prepare this curry, because they become tender soft and succulent on cooking and also makes tasty curries, moreover they have very less fish bones in them, so easy to eat also, they are my favorites and whenever I find them I never hesitate to purchase them, but still you can get your own favorite fish and try this curry. You can use Sardines (Mathi / Chalai), Barracuda (Sheela / Cheela), Seer fish (Vanjiram), or even Anchovies, try with any fish variety of your choice. Here I have given the perfect measurements for making a great tasting curry. Try it and let me know how much you liked it. 

Check out my other fish recipes here!! 

For Fish Kuruma click here!!

Check out my fish fry recipes here!!

INGREDIENTS

Serves 2 people 
Total Preparation Method - 30 minutes 

1. Fish - 4 pieces (Weighed 200 grams)
2. Raw mango - 3 long pieces (weighed around 80 grams; I used kili mooku mango, you can use any kind)
3. Coconut - 5 to 7 pieces (weighed 20 grams) 
4. Tamarind - 1 gooseberry sized ball (Weighed 12 grams)
5. Shallots / Pearl onions - 15 
6. Garlic pods - 7 
7. Red chilli powder - 2 spoons 
8. Coriander powder - 2½ spoons 
9. Turmeric powder - 1/4 spoon + 2 spoons 
10. Curry leaves - Few 
11. Fennel seeds / Sombu - ¾ spoon 
12. Fenugreek seeds / Vendhayam - ¾ spoon 
13. Mustard seeds - 1/2 spoon 
14. Salt - As per taste 
15. Water - 300 ml (approximately 2½ cups)
16. Oil - 10 to 15 spoons (the more better; gingelly oil preferred)

PREPARATION METHOD

• Soak tamarind in a cup of water (200 ml) and set aside for 15 minutes. Then mash it well using your fingers and extract the tamarind juice. Discard the pulp.
• Meanwhile, wash the fish pieces well in water and marinate it with 2 spoons of turmeric powder and salt. Set aside.
• Peel onions and garlic pods and chop into two and set aside. Grind coconut into a fine paste by adding little water and set aside. 
• Now heat a pan and add oil into it. After it heats up add mustard seeds and let it splutter.
• Then add fenugreek seeds (vendhayam), fennel seeds (sombu), curry leaves and saute for a few seconds. 
• Now add the chopped onions and garlic pods and saute well until the onions gets cooked well. 
• Then add the red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt, and saute well. 
• After the raw smell leaves pour the extracted tamarind water and 300 ml of water into the pan. 
• Add the raw mango pieces now. 
• Stir well now add the ground coconut paste and mix well. Switch the flame to high mode and cook until the gravy boils well (or for about 5 minutes). 
• Then reduce the flame and cook on low flame until the gravy thickens. By this time the raw mango pieces will have got cooked well.  
• After the gravy thickens, gently slide in the fish pieces. Leave the pan undisturbed, do not stir after adding the fish pieces. 
• Cook on low flame for 3 to 4 minutes. 
• Remove from flame and close the pan with a lid and set aside. Serve after 30 minutes to get the best flavors. 

TIP 1: For a good tasting curry use gingelly oil, it sure gives an authentic touch and adding more oil gives you a good tasting curry and also improves the texture of the curry. 

TIP 2: Adding raw mango gives a nice flavor but still check for the sourness of the mango and then adjust the addition of tamarind. 

TIP 3: Always make sure that the gravy thickens before you add the fish pieces. Because fish pieces gets cooked fast and overcooking will cause the fish pieces to break. We have added more water, so wait patiently until the water content reduces and curry becomes thick. 

TIP 4: In case if your curry tastes so tangy add more coconut paste to make the curry less tangy. This trick will make the curry tastier too. 

TIP 5: If you want you can add some cumin seeds while making the coconut paste. This will enhance the flavor of the curry. 

TIP 6: I used kili mooku mango and it was not much sour so I used 3 pieces, if your raw mango tastes sour you can reduce the amount of tamarind. 

Super delicious authentic Manga Meen Kulambu is now ready!! Serve with rice, boiled egg and fish fry and enjoy!!

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