Roopchand Fish Ambat (Chinese Pomfret Curry).

“Roopchand Fish Ambat (Chinese Pomfret Curry)” … the aromatic seasoning of onions always takes the curry, be it prepared with veggies or fish to another level … tastes best served with ukde sheetHa (Red Boiled Kerala Matta Rice) and a vegetable upkari/ bhaji served along with it during meals … Yummilicious …

** I hardly purchase this fish, Roopchand known as Chinese Pomfret though its easily available in Mumbai. This fish is similar to surmai though smaller in size and wider in width. Recently I have been unable to go out and buy fish in the market due to my back issues, so I decided to try online and ended up purchasing this one. The taste is slightly sweeter and fish is much softer to eat and though fries would have tasted great, I must admit, that for over six months now I have cut down on frying for personal reasons. Just went ahead and prepared ambat and it tasted great served with red boiled rice.

** Here is my recipe for “Roopchand Fish Ambat (Chinese Pomfret Curry)” … my style, do try it if you like fish meals like we do …

** Luckily, the fish source I purchase Online from serve them early in the morning all fresh, cleaned and ready to cook. All I need to do was just clean it well changing the water a few times and I am really thankful for this service.

** Put the fish pieces in a vessel filled with clean water until we go about preparing the masala for the curry. Some people do apply lemon, haldi/ turmeric, salt all over the fish pieces and allow to rest, well my amma never followed that procedure, neither do I, I just keep them in water, adding a large pinch of salt and gently clean them again using fresh water and add then add them to the simmering curry, that’s it.

** I have used about 8 pieces of ½ inch thickness for this curry, so the masala prepared is accordingly, if more do adjust accordingly.

** Masala to be ground : Grind 1 heaped cup of freshly grated coconut (soyi/ nariyal) with 12- 15 fried kashmiri red chillies (byadgi mirchi/ kumte mirsanga, 2 tblsp of coriander seeds (kothambari/ dhania) and a small marble sized tamarind (chinchama/ imly) to a very fine paste adding required amount of water.

** Add the ground masala in a broad flat vessel (always use flat and broad vessels to cook fish) and add in necessary amount of water to bring to a thick gravy consistency. Now add salt (namak/ meeta) to taste and cook on medium heat until it comes to a boiling point, then lower the heat and let simmer for about 5 minutes.

** You can add a handful of finely chopped onions (piyavu/ kanda) to the curry while cooking (Optional) if desired, I have added.

** Now gently add one by one cleaned, prepared and kept fish pieces 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 to a boiling point stirring gently in between until the fish is cooked and done, this fish takes about 8-10 minutes to cook well.

** Note : Do not boil or cook the curry in excess, as fish hardly takes more than 8-10 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 do when it comes to cooking fish curry, so be careful on that front.

** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka : Heat 2-3 tblsp oil (tel/ tela) in a small pan, when it is hot add finely chopped 1 large sized onion (piyavu/ kanda/ pyaz) and fry until it is evenly browned. Pour over the simmering fish curry, mix well and cook for another 2-3 minutes only. Remove and keep aside covered for 10-15 minutes for the flavor to get infused. Before serving if the curry has thickened add some boiled water and mix well.

** “Roopchand Fish Ambat (Chinese Pomfret Curry)” is done and ready to be served. Personally hubby and me always love to relish fish curries served with ukde sheetHa (red boiled/ kerala matta rice) or any other cooked white rice, I use Surti Kollam. However, if you do not prefer plain white rice or boiled rice, then you can serve it with mildly spiced rice items like fried rice, ghee rice, jeera rice etc. too. Just remember that fish curry always tastes best served with rice items, try it, sure to be loved by family.

** There are many more delicious “GSB Konkani Saraswat” style fish curries and veg. curries too shared in the blog, they are all tasty and are easy to prepare. Do try them out and enjoy with your family and friends. Life is all about enjoying good food for a great lifestyle and there is nothing healthier than home cooked meals. It is the best gift we can give to our family so that it gets continued for generations to come.