Nethili Milagu Kuzhambu/Peppered Anchovy Fish Gravy/Anchovy Fish Curry

Been born and brought up in Pondicherry, a beautiful seashore city i have been pampered by fresh seafoods. Obviously i miss those super fresh seafoods here. My mom makes seafoods twice a week either as gravies or as fries. My most favourite fish is always the small tiny anchovies, with which we make pakoras. If you visit Pondicherry,you should taste these fish pakoras or prawn pakoras we call them as kavapu, these sea food fritters are my grandma's signature dish.

Eventhough Anchovies are available in frozen food section, i'll never fail to get them from. This time i had a chance to get some large sizec anchovies, back home i prepared a Pondicherry style milagu kuzhambu aka peppered anchovy gravy. Love this gravy simply with hot steaming rice and papads, while typing itself my mouth is watering here.This dish is one of my mom's signature dish, which i cooked from my handwritten cookbook. If you want to make a different fish curry,give a try to this gravy.This gravy tastes fabulous after a day, so you can keep some aside to have them the next day with some idlies or dosas for breakfast.This post goes  for the CC Challenge of the month.

20nos Anchovies (cleaned)

10nos Shallots (chopped)

1no Tamarind (lemon size)

1no Tomato

5nos Garlic pods (crushed)

Few Curry leaves

1/2tsp Turmeric powder
1/2tsp Pepper powder

salt

Oil

1/4tsp Mustard seeds

1/4tsp Urad dal

1/4tsp Fenugreek seeds

To grind:

1tsp Peppercorns

1tsp Cumin seeds

2tsp Coriander seeds

3nos Red chilly

7nos Shallots

1/4cup Coconut grated

Grind all the ingredients from 'to grind' list with enough water as fine paste.

Soak the lemon size tamarind in hot water,keep aside.

Add the soaked tamarind tomato in a mixie jar, beat them well and extract the juice with a strainer, add the salt and keep aside..

Wash thoroughly the fish with turmeric powder, with salt n keep aside.

Heat oil in a kadai, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, fenugreek seeds,curry leaves and let them splutters.

Add the shallots,crushed garlic pods to the hot oil, stir them continously until the onions turns transculent.

add the tamarind juice to the kadai, bring them to boil.

Now add the grounded paste to the gravy, cook them for a while.