Unakkameen Podichathu/ Chammanthy - Crushed Salted 'N' Dried Fish

What are you thankful for this year?

On the Sunday before thanksgiving , I have this habit of jotting down all those things that I am thankful to God almighty , for the past year. I go through each blessing again n again , living those moments one more time , telling him , how grateful I am . I know perfectly , whatever I achieve its 5 % me and 95 % the One above .. How about you guys?

Nothing new for  here , as I am so busy planning and preparing for the Thanksgiving Dinner I am hosting this Thursday . 

Just to keep this space alive , I thought I will repost this 2 year old recipe with a new dress , I stitched for it a couple of weeks back . I am not gonna blah , blah you on my love for Salted dried fish , as I have talked about it many times on all these posts on Unakkameen / Dry Fish.

So straight to the recipe :)

Recipe for Dried Fish chutney without coconut ( Unakkameen Podichathu)
Serves - 4
Total cooking time - 4-6 hours for soaking +  30 minutes cooking

Ingredients:-
Unakkameen / Dried Salted Fish - 250 gm
Red chili powder - 3/4 to 1 tea spoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tea spoon
Shallots - 2-3
Garlic - 1 clove
Red chili - 8-9 or  1 or 2 tea spoon of crushed chili flakes( adjust per ur tolerance..this is really spicy)
Curry Leaves - 3-4
Method:-
Soak Unakkameen / Salted fish in water for 4-6 hours or overnight. Add a sheet of teared newspaper along with it. This absorbs the salt.Then cut it into medium pieces
( Note :- A reader send me a mail , opening my eyes to the ill effects of keeping newspapers with fish , I am not gonna do the same  again . Keeping the salted fish a lil longer than usual , i suppose is always better than doing something which can affect your health. Thanks Usha :-) )
Pat dry the fish well and marinate it with chili and turmeric powder and keep aside for 15 minutes.
Heat one or two tablespoons of oil in a pan and fry the fish pieces, until they start to turn reddish brown. Drain on paper towels.
In a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder , or small jar of mixie , add shallots , garlic , chili and curry leaves , and fried fish and crush it. Use the pulse action and pulse it for 3-4 times or until it is crushed.
Good day
Sarah