Nadan Mathi Curry – Mathi Mulakitathu with Video

Nadan Mathi Curry – Spicy Tea Shop Sardine Curry 

Jayamma, runs a tea shop that serves lunch daily to hundreds of people. She has regular customers who keep coming back due to the quality of her ingredients and the taste of fabulous curries. She has been gracious enough to teach me a few tricks of her trade.

This Nadan Mathi Curry, is a spicy Sardine Curry. She also taught me how to make what is known as her ‘ Special mathi ( sardine) curry’ which is less spicy and even tastier. Here I share both methods.

Nadan Mathi Curry – Spicy Tea Shop Sardine Curry

Ingredients:

• 1 kg sardine, cleaned, rinsed and drained
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 long green chili mild, sliced
• large handful of curry leaves
• 3 Tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• ½ Tbsp turmeric powder
• 4 large tomatoes, blended to a paste / juice – (No water added)
• 5 segments of fish tamarind ( kudampuli, soaked in water ahead of time).
• 4 cups hot water
• 3 Tbsp coconut oil
• salt to taste about 3 tsp

Method:

• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pot. Add the sliced onion, green chili and curry leaves.
• Saute patiently on medium heat, till the onions turn light golden in color.
• Add the chili powder, followed by turmeric powder. Stir and cook on low heat till the spices are cooked without burning. ( The spices will smell cooked, losing that raw aroma).
• Pour in the blended tomato juice. Stir and cook slowly.
• Add salt.
• Add the fish tamarind, along with some or all of the water in which it was soaked ( depending on how sour it is).
• Maintain low – medium heat  till the tomato is cooked and reduced.
• Wait for the oil to separate and appear on top.
• Now add the hot water and bring to boil on high.
• Add more salt at this point.
• Once the water has returned to a boil, add the fish. Bring back to a simmer briefly, then reduce heat to low.
• Cook for 10 minutes till the fish is done.
• Transfer the curry to an earthen pot. Simmer for a few seconds and remove from heat.
• Allow to rest, covering once cool – for six hours or overnight for better results.
• Next day,  Bring the curry just to a boil once again and serve.

For the Special Mathi Curry:

Jayamma, shares her secret to her Special Mathi Curry, which is less spicy and even tastier. She uses the Curry from the batch made of the Spicy Sardine Curry ( Recipe above), which is made using 6 kg of sardine. She says the  curry made with such a large amount of fish contains better ‘essence’ than can be created with a small quantitiy of fish. Sure, at home we do not have the curry from 6 kg of fish left over! I just reduce the chili powder and use lots of shallots instead of the onion and cook the curry in an earthen pot.

• ½ kg sardine
• 8 shallots, replacing the onion
• 1 small mild green chilli
•  2 Tbsp curry leaves
• 1 Tomato, blended without water to a a paste
• 2-3 segments of fish tamarind soaked ahead of time in water
• 1 ½ tsp salt or to taste
• (1 cup of the curry from  a larger batch of curry as in the above recipe) PLUS 1 ½ cups hot water
• ½ Tbsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp turmeric

Method: similar to the recipe above, adjusting ingredients

• Heat oil in an earthen pot. Add the sliced shallots, green chili and curry leaves.
• Saute patiently on medium heat, till the shallots turn light golden in color.
• Add the chili powder, followed by turmeric powder. Stir and cook on low heat till the spices are cooked without burning. ( The spices will smell cooked, losing that raw aroma).
• Pour in the blended tomato juice. Stir and cook slowly.
• Add salt.
• Add the fish tamarind, along with some or all of the water in which it was soaked ( depending on how sour it is).
• Maintain low – medium heat  till the tomato is cooked and reduced.
• Wait for the oil to separate and appear on top.
• Now add the hot water ( plus essence of spicy curry is using) and bring to boil on high.
• Add more salt at this point.
• Once the water has returned to a boil, add the fish. Bring back to a simmer briefly, then reduce heat to low.
• Cook for 10 minutes till the fish is done.
• Transfer the curry to an earthen pot. Simmer for a few seconds and remove from heat.

Nadan Mathi Curry – Spicy Tea Shop Sardine Curry

Try it and let us know – Nadan Mathi Curry – Spicy Tea Shop Sardine Curry .

•  In the tea shop, a heavy bottomed pot is used for most of the cooking since the intense heat over direct flame can cause damage to earthen pots. However, the curry is transferred while still simmering to and earthen pot and reheated. Then it is left to rest in the earthen pot which helps to enhance the curry further.