MahiKhalya

WOW….haven’t been on here for ages, I was feeling as if like every other project I get into…. It comes to a complete and sad stop without me even realizing. Today’s get up and just do it kind of attitude was inspired by my cousin Mudassir who just had to have the recipe for MAHIKHALYA.  I think I said it right I hope. Who knows?  Mahi supposedly means fish and Khalya I guess means curry I guess.  It’s a very popular Hyderabadi dish. It is meant to be a fish curry but us Hyderabadi‘s… well, are red meat lovers and we will do anything to add goat, lamb and or beef to anything because, it just tastes better.  There is no white meat in the world that can replace the flavors of the RED MEAT.  In a Hyderabad household you must have a meat dish and one khatta dish.  If the meat dish is the khatta dish than we can have a phikka dish to compliment.  You can’t just make one item with rice or roti and get away with it.  Each curry has to have a complimentary dish or the meal is not complete.  As for veggies, well there are served mostly like a tax we eat it because our body requires it.  If we become daring and make one dish purely vegetarian, we must have a meat dish to compensate regardless along with something khatta or phikka to compliment it.  We add meat in our veggie dishes and we cook those green suckers till they resemble the color of the meat itself so we can fool ourselves into eating the green things.   All kidding aside this dish is a very special dish, I love it, but I love it with the meat.  Today I’ll be cooking it with fish because my English raised husband prefers the white fish.  So I guess I’ll make him happy today for once.  But I’ll give you the yummier meat version as well.

Mahikhalya

2 lbs of meat or fish

1 tsp of red chili powder or more per taste

½ tsp of turmeric

2 tsp salt and a bit more to taste

2 tsp of ginger garlic paste

Golf ball size of tamarind

¼ cup of cumin seeds (whole)

½ cup of dry coconut

2 tbsp of coriander seeds

1 pinch of kalonji seeds

2 onions (medium but on the large size)

2 or 3 green chilies

A few stems of curry leaves

Cilantro

Oil

Roast the cumin, coriander in a pan

 Roast coconut in a pan.

As you can see the coconut is brown not burned do not leave it even for a second

Grind the seeds in a coffee grinder

Then grind the coconut in the grinder to almost consistency of paste

Chop up the onions and brown them, I have chopped these onions very betuka (a word my mom would say in horror if she was standing next to me)

But you know what it’s all going to be browned and pulverized so who cares

In a blender pulverize the onions along with the ground seeds and coconut

In a small bowl soak the tamarind in warm water than squeeze out the pulp

Until the water is almost clear

Add the tamarind pulp into the blender and blend until umm blended...yah

Ok so here are the major points to remember, the crucial elements of cooking the curry with fish or meat.

For the meat curry,

You cook the meat with salt, red chili, turmeric and ginger garlic paste until cooked.

Then you add in the above ingredients and cook for at least 25 minutes on low heat.

For fish curry

You pulverize all the ingredients add in the salt, chili, turmeric, ginger garlic paste, curry leaves and green chili and cook for at least 20 minutes. 

Add in the fish than stir very well (because after this stirring there is no more stirring or you will end up with fish soup curry )
and cook for another 10 minutes and turn off stove

Transfer the curry into a pretty dish and sprinkle with some chopped cilantro and a stem of curry leaves.

Enjoy with Khaddi daal and rice.