“Soundale Alle Piyava Gashi Ambuli Ghalnu (Butter Fish Ginger Onion Curry with Raw Mango)” … alle- piyava gashi is a simple medium spiced curry from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine be it prepared with veggies or fish … this delicate buttery flavored fish as is its name is high on nutrient levels … tastes best prepared in any flavor be it ginger or onion tempered … the taste of raw mango enhances the tart/ tangy taste of the curry to another level … tastes best served with ukde sheetHa (red boiled rice)/plain Rice ... Veggies do excuse … Yummilicious ...
** Gashi fish curry with ginger- onion has always been a preferred fish curry for both its aromatic taste and medium spice level, though hubby prefers panna upkari a spicier curry. Recently gashi dishes has been more favored to, than other curries in my home as with advancing age we somehow can’t tolerate excess heat of spicy dishes be it veg or non.veg. I have already shared plenty of alle’- piyava gashi (ginger onion curry) with different types of fish before and the only difference in this one is, here I have used soundale (butter fish) along with ambuli (raw mango/ kairi/ mavinakayi) for the tart taste while rest of the recipe remains same. I have shared a common link to fish recipes at the bottom of this recipe, you browse through the same for more references if need be and try out any that appeals to you. Do try out various dishes shared in the Blog and enjoy them in your home with your family and friends, sure to be loved by all.
** Here is my recipe for “Soundale Alle Piyava Gashi Ambuli Ghalnu (Butter Fish Ginger Onion Curry with Raw Mango)” … my style ...
** Ingredients :
Soundale/ Butter Fish : 3 medium sized.
Raw Mango/ Ambuli/ Kairi/ Mavinakayi : 1 medium sized.
Onion/ Piyavu/ Kanda : 1 medium sized.
Ginger/ Alle’/ Adrak : 2 inch piece
Green Chilly/ Tarni Mirsanga/ Hari Mirchi : 3-4
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : a few
Coconut Oil/ Narel Tela/ Nariyal Tel : 2-3 tblsp
Salt/ Meeta/ Namak : to taste.
** For Masala to be ground :
Coconut/ Nariyal/ Soyi : 1 heaped cup of freshly grated
Kashmiri red chillies/ Kumte Mirsanga/ Byadgi Mirchi : 6-8
** To prepare the fish : Remove scales on outer skin with blunt knife, trim the fins, slice off the head portion and give a slit on the side near stomach and clean it out well, with plenty of water. Cut them into two or three pieces horizontally depending upon the size of the fish. Add the cut pieces into a wide bowl filled with water and gently wash each piece taking care to see that you remove all dirt particles stuck within. Further wash the pieces changing water until you get it clean, say at least 3-4 times. Now apply a little bit of salt all over and keep it aside ready, You can put it in plenty of water and keep it aside until to be used and give a good rinse with fresh water just before cooking.
** Note : Cleaning, cutting and handling of fish is something that needs to be watched keenly a few times which according to me is one of the best way to learning. In most of the places these are cleaned by the fish vendors, so it is that much more easier to clean. If it is not done so in your vicinity then do ask a friendly neighbor/ relative and learn the procedure as a keen observation is the best guidance when it comes to learning cooking, if not you can always check out any You Tube for the same.
** Wash, wipe dry and slice the edible portion of ambuli/ raw mango into julienne/ strips discarding the innermost seed and keep it aside ready. Peel the skin and finely chop the onion and keep it aside ready. Trim the stem and cut green chilly lengthwise and keep it also with the onion. Wash, scrape off the outer skin and cut the ginger into julienne and keep them ready alongside other items.
** For Masala to be ground : Grind freshly grated coconut and red chillies to a fine paste with a little bit of water in mixer grinder. The ground paste should be thick and very fine in texture. Remove and keep this aside ready.
** Note: For preparing any of the masala curry you can use any one of the tart tasting fruit/ veggie mentioned here like, bimbul (tree sorrel fruit), ambado (Hogplum), karmbala (carmbola/ starfruit), ambuli (raw mango), harvo tomato (raw- green tomato), sun- dried kokum, sun- dried kudampuli or as is available region wise. In case you do not have access to any one of the mentioned tart tasting veggies or they are not available or if you do not want to use them then for any reason, do not worry, you can always add in a small marble sized piece of tamarind (chinchama/ Imly) while grinding the masala which is the pattern followed in most GSB homes while grinding masala for any curry.
** Add the ground masala in a wide mouthed vessel along with required amount of water and mix well to bring it to a semi thick gravy consistency. Bring to a boil on medium heat adding curry leaves, ginger and raw mango juliennes, green chillies cut lengthwise and finely chopped onion pieces. Let the curry simmer for sometime so that the raw mango is almost cooked, say about 5 minutes.
** Now lower the heat to minimum, add cleaned and kept soundale (butter fish) pieces one by one in a single layer in the vessel without toppling them on each other. Add salt to taste and let the curry come to a boil on medium heat. In between you may gently shake the vessel with the help of tongs or mix carefully the gravy with spatula and cook the curry for 4-5 minutes on low- medium heat, stirring gently with a spatula/ ladle avoiding touching the fish pieces while doing so to avoid them breaking.
** Note : The method we Saraswat's follow is we hold the vessel either with the help of tongs or with a cloth on the rim and gently rotate or tilt leftwards and rightwards which helps the gravy and fish together to move smoothly within the means of vessel, this method makes it foolproof from the fish getting broken as they are very delicate, however one has to be careful to follow this method or else if tilted too much you may spill over the curry and the fishes too, so once again I suggest watching this procedure keenly from a helpful friend, neighbor, relative for better judgment and foolproof cooking.
** Note : Also, always use flat wide utensils to cook fish curry. This helps to add on the fish pieces in a layer without toppling on each other. This also helps in even cooking of the fish pieces and also becomes easier to gently stir or move the vessel in rotation to cook the fishes intact without breaking into pieces.
** The fish pieces hardly take much time in cooking depending off course upon the quantity otherwise in maximum its about 5-7 minutes and it’s done. Lastly add in the coconut oil in raw form over the curry, mix and remove from heat. Keep the curry aside covered for about 15-20 minutes for the flavors to be well infused.
** Fish curry always taste best when given some time to rest after which it can be served hot during meals. Just before serving, check the curry and if you find that the curry has thickened a lot you can add some boiling water, mix well and serve the same, also remember to check out on salt level before serving if need be.
** “Soundale Alle Piyava Gashi Ambuli Ghalnu (Butter Fish Ginger Onion Curry with Raw Mango)” is done and ready to be served. Any fish curry always tastes best served hot with ukde sheetHa (red boiled rice) or any plain/ steamed rice, so do try the same combo sometime, I am sure you will love it. Again, if you do not prefer plain rice, you can serve it with mildly spiced rice dishes like pulav, ghee rice, though most GSB Konkani Saraswats who eat fish prefer to relish it with plain rice.
** Fish is full of proteins and omega 3, which is indeed good for heart and overall health. As for sardines, salmons, mackerel, they do top the list of best fishes in health benefits. If you are a non-vegetarian then make it a point to include more of fish items into your meals as they rank the highest among non.veg items along with eggs. It is always a joy to relish fried fish items but then curries are much more healthier option. So, do try out this simple delicious curry and give me a feedback if possible.
** Note: The spice level needs to be kept slightly higher in case of butter fish as it slightly sweetish in taste. However, you can increase or decrease depending upon your family choice especially if you have young children at home.
** Note : It’s the season of raw mangoes (kairi/ ambuli/ mavinakayi) and I always make the best use of them by including in curries. If you have not tried doing so, go ahead and do so, your family may find it surprisingly lovely in taste, if not you can always use any other item mentioned in the list given above and add them too. In coastal parts of Maharashtra Kokum petals are always added to fish curry while in Mangaluru side its bimbul and again in Kerala Kudampuli is largely used, so it’s a matter of choice.
** For more “Fish Recipes” you can browse through the common link shared below. I have also shared a link to a collage post of all “Soundale (Butter fish)” fish recipes shared before, which also includes ones with tamarind, raw mango, kudampuli, bimbul etc …You may browse through in leisure and try them out too …
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