“Dhoma Ambat (Croaker Fish Curry)” … the aromatic seasoning of onions takes this fish curry altogether to another level … served with ukde sheetHa (Red Boiled Kerala Matta Rice) along with few veggies as side dish, it’s a scrumptious meal for fishitarians … Vegetarians Plz. do excuse ... Yummilicious …
** Dhoma/ Croaker fish is easily available in India, though I had seen this many times in the fish market; it was only about a decade back that I started purchasing it on my fish vendors insistence. I have shared a lovely curry with teppal/ sichuan pepper before and today I am going to share a simple ambat prepared in GSB Konkani Saraswat style. A simple curry, the aromatic onion seasoning of which tastes best served with Ukde SheetHa (Red Kerala Matta Boiled Rice). It is a psychological desire to make Sunday meals much more satisfactory than the meals on other days, maybe coz. it’s weekend holidays that one needs to relax and enjoy with good food. There are plenty of fish recipes in the Blog to which I will share a common link at the bottom of this recipe, plz. do browse through them and try them out in your leisure. They are all tasty and your family is sure to love it.
** Here is my simple recipe for “Dhoma Ambat (Croaker Fish Curry)” … my style …
** Dhoma/ Croaker fish does not have lots of scales on its outer skin, nevertheless it should be scrapped to remove the few, fins trimmed, then sliced to ½ inch thick slices horizontally after cleaning its stomach portion from within. In Mumbai and in most of the places/ fish markets, the fish vendors do this for us when we buy, so half the work is done and all we need to do it is clean it well gently in plenty of water.
** However, if you need to buy them whole then cleaning fish is tough and tricky task though cooking is fast as it gets cooked in a jiffy. You will first need to scrap the scales on outer skin, trim off the fins, tail and the head portion. Give a slit on the stomach side to open the stomach clean within and rinse the fish gently in plenty of water.
** Put fish pieces in a vessel filled with clean water until we go about preparing the masala. Some people apply lemon, haldi/ turmeric, salt all over fish pieces and allow to rest, well my amma never followed that procedure, neither do I, I just keep them in water, gently clean again in fresh water and add them to the curry, that’s it.
** I have used about 10 pieces of ½ inch thickness for this curry, so the masala prepared is accordingly, if more do adjust accordingly.
** Masala to be ground : In a small pan heat 1-2 tsp of any refined oil (tel/ tela), when hot lower the heat to medium and add 2tblsp of coriander seeds (kothambari/ Dhania) and fry till it changes to a reddish tinge. Now add 12-15 kashmiri red chillies (byadgi mirchi/ kumte mirsanga) and further fry all together for another 1-2 minutes until chillies are roasted well. Remove and add this into a mixer grinder along with 1 heaped cup of freshly grated coconut (soyi/ nariyal) and grind to a very fine paste with just required amount of water. Remove and keep it aside ready.
** Note : I have used dried Kudampuli (Malabar tamarind) to this curry to bring tart taste. You can replace it with kokum or any other tart flavored veggies like bimbul (tree sorrel fruit), ambado (hogplum) or karmbal (starfruit). However, if none of these are available then you can add small marble sized piece of tamarind (chinchama/ imly) while grinding the masala which is what I do most of the time.
** Add ground masala in a broad flat vessel (always use flat and broad vessels to cook fish) and add some water to bring to a thick gravy consistency. Now wash and add 5-6 dried kudampuli (Malabar tamarind) *shown in picture, along with salt (namak/ meeta) to taste, handful of finely chopped onions (piyavu/ kanda) and cook on medium heat stirring a few times in between until it comes to a boiling point.
** Lower the heat to minimum and gently add in the prepared and kept dhoma/ croaker fish pieces one by one into the curry taking care to see that you lay them on a single layer without toppling on each other. Raise the heat to medium and bring all to a boiling point stirring gently in between until the fish is cooked and done. Fish does not take much cooking time, say maximum about 5-8 minutes only.
** Note : Do not boil or cook the curry in excess, as fish hardly takes more than 5-8 minutes to get cooked well, also stirring briskly will break them, so you should just try shaking the vessel with help of tongs or cloth in circular movements which is what most of us amchies do when it comes to cooking fish curry.
** For Tempering/ Seasoning/ Tadka/ Pannaka : Heat 2-3 tblsp any edible oil (tel/ tela) in a small pan, when it is hot add in 1 finely chopped large onion (piyavu/ kanda/ pyaz). Fry until the onion is evenly browned, when done remove and pour it over the simmering fish curry. Now give the curry a gentle stir to mix in the seasoning. Remove from fire, cover and keep aside for 10-15 minutes for the flavor to be infused.
** “Dhoma Ambat (Croaker Fish Curry)” is done and ready to be served. In my home we always prefer to relish fish curry served with ukde sheetHa (red boiled/ kerala matta rice) though it taste awesome served with plain rice too. Fish curry always tastes awesome after resting it for few hours or half a day or so and you need not worry about reheating and serving it, in my home we always prefer to enjoy it for 2 days.
** Off course the next best choice would be I guess, mildly spiced rice items, like pulav, ghee rice or jeera rice or even roti if that’s your staple diet, well frankly to each one their own choice, after all a meal should always be relished the way one desires to have or enjoys the best way to give immense satisfaction, Isn't it? So just go ahead, try your own combinations and enjoy them the way you and your family would prefer.
** There are many more delicious “GSB/ Konkani Saraswat” style fish curries shared in the blog, they are all tasty and are easy to prepare. Sharing a common link below to all “Fish” dishes shared in the Blog, you may browse through in leisure, try them out and enjoy with your family and friends ... do give me a feedback if possible, it encourages me to do that much more ... Stay Blessed- Spread Happiness ....
** Sharing a common link below to all “Fish” dishes shared in the Blog, you may browse through in leisure and try them out too …
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