Fish molee

I wonder why the fish dish is called "molee". Molee or molly is a female name in Kerala and I have at least two aunts called so. Was the dish originally created by a lady called Molly? ...and so I muse..

The special ingredients are..

Catla - 500g, cut pieces

Olive oil - 2 Tbsp

Carom seeds - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - a handful

Onions - 2, medium

Ginger - 1"

Garlic - 5 or 6 cloves

Green chili - 1

Tomato - 1, medium

Salt - a pinch

Coconut milk - 150 ml

Water - 1/2 cup

For marination,

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Kashmiri chili powder - 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder - a little more than a pinch

Lemon - 1/2

Clean the fish well by rubbing some salt on the pieces. Wash it off and clean with water. Marinate overnight.

Heat a saucepan with 1 Tbsp of oil. Place the fish and fry on both sides for 4 to 5 mins. Keep aside.

In a deep bottomed saucepan, add the remaining oil. When it heats up, add carom seeds, then curry leaves. Stir for a minute. Add chopped onions and minced chili, garlic and ginger. Saute for about 5 to 7 minutes or until when the onions become soft. Add coconut milk and water. Stir to mix. When the coconut milk heats up, gently add the fish. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sliced tomato and cook (covered) for another 5 minutes. Add salt according to taste.Take away from heat and let it sit for sometime.

Serve with freshly baked homemade bread. We dipped sourdough bread in the curry. It was yummm!

The recipe was adapted from another blogger who does a lot of Keralite dishes.