Kerala Style Meen Achar (Fish Pickle)
I've been eager to bring this Kerala Style Meen Achar to you for quite some time now, and it happens to be one of the most sought-after recipes as well.Although it took a while, I'm finally sharing it with you—better late than never!
Ingredients
- 500 gms Fish, cut into bite – size cubes (we used king fish) (measured after cleaning)
- 1 tbsp, sliced Ginger
- 1 tbsp, sliced Garlic
- 1 – 1.5 tsp Ginger garlic paste
- 4 Green chilli, sliced
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1 tsp Fenugreek seeds
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp Chilli powder
- 1 + 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1/4 cup Vinegar
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 cup Boiled and cooled water
- 1 cup Vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup Sesame/gingely oil
- 1 stem Curry leaves
- Salt
Instructions
- Marinate cleaned fish pieces with 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp chilli powder and salt for half an hour.
- Heat vegetable oil in a deep and wide pan. Deep fry the marinated fish pieces till it becomes crispy and dark brown in color. (refer notes)
- Strain the oil used for frying and keep it aside.
- Add sesame oil to the same pan and crackle mustard and fenugreek seeds. Add sliced ginger, garlic, and green chilli. Fry till golden brown and transfer to a plate.
- Make a thick paste by adding vinegar to turmeric powder (1 tsp) and chilli powder (1 tbsp).
- Add ginger – garlic paste to the same oil (sesame) and fry for 2 mins or till the raw smell goes. Add vinegar spice paste to this. Fry for 2-3 mins or till it gets roasted. Add 1 tsp sugar to this. Mix well.
- Add 1 cup boiled and cooled water to this and bring it to boil. Add fried fish pieces along with fried ginger, garlic, and green chilli. Let it boil.
- Reduce the flame to the lowest and cook for another 5 mins. Chech for salt and vinegar. If more vinegar is required, boil it before adding to the pickle. Remove from fire.
- As the pickle cools add the strained oil (oil used for frying fish) little by little. Once the pickle cools down completely, pour the remaining oil (oil used for frying fish) on top. Press down the fish pieces in the bottle, so that oil comes to the top.
Notes
- Make sure you don't crowd the pan while frying the fish. You can fry it in batches.
- Make sure the oil layer is on top of the pickle (if you don't have enough leftover oil, you may take a half cup of oil, bring it to a boil, cool down and add it to the pickle)
- The pickle can be stored in an air-tight jar in the fridge for 1-2 months.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!