Pedvo- Ambuli Sukka Masala (Sardines- Raw Mango Dry Curry).

“Pedvo- Ambuli Sukka Masala (Sardines- Raw Mango Dry Curry)” … a delicious south Indian fish curry prepared with addition of raw mangoes when in season along with shallots … This curry is close to our Chutney Gooli recipe but with addition of fish pieces … tastes excellent just mixed with some plain white rice like how we relish gooli and is one of the best combo to be served this dish with … Yummilicious …

** I have always loved trying out different types of dishes and I must admit that curries from southern parts of India are my favorite of all, as it is very close to saraswat cooking and somehow I can relate to it. This not only makes me eager to try them out but I can very well visualize the outcome of the dishes too. There are plenty of fish curries which I would love to try that differ from what I am used to and this one is just one of them. Pedvo/ Sardines are easily available in Mumbai and they are the most favorite of South Indians. These are very good for health as they are a good source of healthy oil content, nutritious with omega 3, high protein levels etc.

** When my friend suggested this curry, she was not sure of the right method and gave me a random recipe or should I say explanation as she had relished it in a friends home. I browsed through a few recipes and finally tried out the curry, making a few changes following our own Saraswat style of cooking. Though I would have loved to try this dish with those tiny sardines available in Mangalore, in Mumbai, especially in my area, they are difficult to find, so had to do with larger ones by cutting them to two pieces. The small sardines are very tasty and can be eaten with the fine thorns within them without any harm, so if you find them, do try this curry using them.

** Again, as I went about cooking this curry, I found the masala to be on close heels to our very own chutney gooli (chamanti style/ coarsely ground chutney), texture being almost same, would say slightly thinner with addition of extra onions. The chutney gooli prepared with onion is almost the same and so is the one prepared with dry fish addition. The exception here being that the masala is cooked and fresh fish pieces are added on while retaining the texture thick and dry. The relishing pattern too is same by mixing with some plain white rice which is the best combo with this dish. So try it out, if you like sardines, it tastes awesome, remember to serve with rice.

** I have used coconut oil/ nariyal tel/ narlel tela here, you can chose any of your choice, however fish curries always taste best prepared with coconut oil and almost in every GSB Konkani Sarawat home we always prefer coconut oil when it comes to fish curries. The uniquie flavor the coconut oil imparts is something beyond comparison when prepared with other oil, so, I would suggest you try it out once before you think otherwise. I would also like to mention that coconut oil is definitely good for health and we Konkani’s have always been using it for generations for all purposes, though the same is being recognized and given credit worldwide only now.

** Here is my simple recipe for “Pedvo- Ambuli Sukka Masala (Sardines- Raw Mango Dry Curry)” … my style …

** Ingredients :

Pedvo/ Sardines/ Tarli/ Bhootai : 10-12 (if using large), 16-18 (if using medium), 25-30 (if using small).

Raw Mango/ Ambuli/ Kairi : 1 medium sized

Shallots/ Pearl Onions/ Samll single Onions : 15-18

Coconut/ Nariyal/ Soyi : 1 cup freshly grated

Green Chillies/ Tarni Mirsanga/ Hari Mirchi : 6-8 less spicy

Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder/ Mirsange Pitti/ Mirchi Powder : ½ tsp

Haldi/ Turmeric Powder : ½ tsp

Ginger/ Alle’/ Adrak : 1 inch piece

Garlic/ Losun/ Lehsun : 8-10

Curry Leaves/ Kadi Patta/ Karbevu : 10-12 fresh ones

Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste

Coconut Oil/ Nariyal Tel/ Narlel Tela : 2-3 tblsp

** Wash, scale, trim off the tail and head portion, give a slit on tummy portion and clean the fish in plenty of water discarding the water until runs clean. If small in size you can retain them whole otherwise cut them into either 2 or 3 pieces and keep ready.

** You can either put the cut fish pieces in a vessel with water+ pinch of salt, till to be used or rub salt all over them and keep aside too, I just soak in water.

** Peel off the skin of garlic and cut them into pieces along with ginger and green chillies. Peel off the skin of shallots and also keep them ready.

** In a mixer grinder add in garlic, ginger, green chillies pieces and half of the peeled shallots and grind to a coarse paste WITHOUT adding water.

** Add in chilly powder, haldi powder and coconut and further grind all together till you get a coarse thick textured paste WITHOUT adding water.

** Wash, wipe dry and slice off the outer skin of the raw mango thinly and then grate it, discard the inner seed and keep it aside ready.

** In a thick bottomed kadai/ vessel add the coconut oil and when hot add remaining shallots kept aside along with curry leaves and fry for a few minutes.

** When shallots turns transparent, add ground masala, grated raw mango, salt to taste, mix well and let cook on slow heat WITHOUT adding water.

** Note : The curry can be prepared without addition of any water or maybe at the most a few teaspoons as there is plenty of water in onions while grinding and in the grated raw mango too when cooking, so will the coconut release some.

** When curry had cooked well, say about five minutes, then add prepared and kept pedvo/ sardine pieces, mix well, once again cover and cook till done.

** Do mix in a few times all ingredients while cooking for even cooking of fish pieces and also to take care that the masala does not stick to vessel or get burnt.

** Once the curry- fish have been thoroughly cooked, remove and keep aside for 15 minutes for the curry to settle well and the fish to absorb flavors.

** “Pedvo- Ambuli Sukka Masala (Sardines- Raw Mango Dry Curry)” is done and ready to be served. Tastes best served with plain rice as the best way to relish this curry is mixed hot with some plain rice. This curry is close to our Chutney gooli recipe but with addition of fish pieces, if you love sardines, try this curry it tastes awesome.

** There are many more "Fish Curries/ Fries/ Rice Dishes" shared in the Blog before, please browse through using the search or label option.