The land of coconuts, Kerala offers so many dishes that are famous all over India and perhaps the entire Asian sub-continent. One of the lesser known recipes is a fish pickle or meen achar. ‘Meen’ means fish in Malayalam language and achar means pickle in Hindi. Curries are a perfect combination with any rice or rotis (flatbreads). However, pickles make everything better. It’s a side dish that we eat in a moderate quantity. Pickles are known as taste booster and add flavor to our main meals. Fish pickle is simple to make, and you can store it in a glass jar or a mason jar for at least a couple of months. You can choose any one of the fishes – tuna, seer fish, butterfish, prawns, anchovies, pomfret, and sardine.
Health benefits
According to Community and Environment group, fish is low-fat and high in quality protein. It is filled with omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins such as D and B2 (riboflavin). Fish is rich in calcium and phosphorus and a great source of minerals, such as iron, zinc, iodine, magnesium, and potassium.
Pickles, when eaten in smaller quantity, can benefit your health. They contain moisture, energy, fat, protein, carbohydrates, fibers, vitamins and sugar. Pickles naturally work as antioxidants, probiotics which are the gut-friendly antibiotics and also helps in digestion. They also help in maintaining hemoglobin levels in anemic people.
Ingredients
pieces – fish (cut into cubes): 5
tsp – ginger: 2
cloves – garlic: 10
cup – gingelly oil: 1
tsp – cumin seeds: 1/4
tsp – fenugreek seeds: 1/4
salt to taste
tsp – mustard seeds: 1/2
tbsp – pepper powder: 1
tsp – turmeric powder: 1/2
tsp – red chili powder: 5
green chilies: 5
few curry leaves
pinch – asafetida: 1
How To Make Fish Pickle
- Marinate fish by adding red chili powder, pepper powder, turmeric powder, and salt.
- Keep them aside for 20 to 30 mins.
- In a wok, add gingelly oil on medium flame and add fish to it. Fry the fish in the oil till it becomes
- To make gravy use a separate pan. Add gingelly oil, mustard seeds, and fenugreek seeds. Sauté them till they splutter.
- Add curry leaves, ginger, garlic, and green chilies. Sauté them till it turns golden brown.
- Add chili powder, asafetida, pepper powder, turmeric powder, and Fry them well.
- Add ¼ cup water to the gravy and boil it well.
- Add fried fish to the gravy and mix well.
- Dry roast mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and grind them into powder.
- Add the ground powder to the pickle.
- For the first 2 days there will be sourness, later the fish will absorb all the ingredients.
- Pickle can be preserved in the refrigerator or store in airtight container or in a storage container
Trivia
- Pickling has been used to preserve food for almost 5,000 years.
- The largest bluefin tuna weighed 1,496 pounds and was caught in Nova Scotia on October 26, 1979.