A medium spicy blend of chillies and tamarind, this fish curry can be served with rice or dosas or idlis. There are many different ways of making fish curry in Tamilnadu. This style of the recipe was followed by my mother in law and I have always loved it.
I have seasoned the curry using vadavam (vadouvan), french derivative for this masala. The spice blend is thought to have originated from the colonial influence of the French in the Pondicherry region of India. (Pictured below). The spice blend contains pounded onion, garlic, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds which are sun dried, then crushed and mixed with castor oil, rolled into balls and dried for several more days.
If you do not have vadavam, you could use the items mentioned “under seasoning” which would be readily available in your pantry.
Keep the ingredients aside 
Heat oil and add vadagam and curry leaves 
Add the ground paste 
Saute for 5 minutes 
Mix the spice powders 
Clean 1/2 kg fish 
Add water and tamarind and boil for 10 mts on a low flame
To Grind:
Onion – 1 big
Tomato – 2 1/2 medium
Green chillies – 2
Garlic – 5 cloves
Ginger – 3/4 inch piece
Saunf – 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves – 4 or 5
Grated coconut – 2 tbsp
Other ingredients:
Fish – 1/2 kg
Oil – 1 1/2 tbsp
Tamarind – a small ball (to make 1/4 cup of thick extract)
Water – 2 1/4 cups
Chillie powder – 2 tsps
Coriander powder – 2 tsp
Cumin seed powder – 1 tsp
Pepper powder – 1 tsp
For seasoning:
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Jeera seeds – 3/4 tsp
Curry leaves – 1 1/2 sprigs
Garlic cut into small pieces – 1/2 tsp
OR
Vadagam – 1 tsp crushed
Oil – 1 tsp
Preparation:
Wash and clean the fish well. Add 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and 1/4 tsp of salt to the fish and keep it aside.
Soak tamarind in 1/2 cup of warm water. After 10 minutes, extract 1/4 cup of thick extract and keep it aside.
In a mixer, grind the items under ‘to grind’ to a smooth paste.
Heat a kadai or clay plot. Add oil and when it becomes hot, add the seasonings/vadagam and curry leaves. When it starts sizzling, add the ground paste to it and saute it well for 5 minutes until the raw smell disappears. Add 1/4 cup of the tamarind extract to this paste and saute again.
In a separate bowl, add the red chillie powder, coriander powder, cumin seed powder, turmeric powder, pepper powder and salt. Add 2 1/4 cups of water to it and mix well.
Add the liquid to the pan/clay pot and let it boil for a full 8-10 minutes on low flame. Then, add the cleaned fish to it and cover and cook for 4-5 minutes. Put off the flame and serve with rice.
Garnish it with some coriander leaves.
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