Fish Puttu/ Mince Fish Fry

Fish puttu or rather Meen Puttu, as it is called in South India, is a very common side in most households. If the fish is not going to be fried then it will be made into puttu. I always liked my puttu with shark meat, I felt it had a better flavour to it than regular fish meat. Sura puttu or shark puttu was a big part of my summer vacations growing up. We spent two months of summer vacations with my grandparents in Madras, now called Chennai, after my father left to get back to work, and almost every other day we would have fish and once a week we would have sura puttu.

This dish goes really well as a side for any dhal dish, like Sambar or plain dhal, and rasam. Thinking about it right now, I do not mind getting back into the kitchen and making another serving of puttu for myself again.

Ingredients:

• Fish - 2 fillets ( about 350 gms)
• Onions -  1 large finely chopped
• Curry leaves - 1 Sprig
• Ginger - about an inch, finely chopped
• Garlic - 4 cloves finely chopped
• Green chilli - 5 finely chopped ( if you would like more heat then you could add more)
• Ground pepper - 1/2 tsp.
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp.
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp.

Method:

1. Bring water to boil in a sauce pan and add the fish fillets with turmeric and salt. Let it cook for 5 - 10mins. Once the fish is cooked, drain the water, let the fish cool down, pat it dry and shred the meat making sure there are no lumps. Set aside.
2. In a wok heat oil, add mustard seeds once hot and let it splutter. Now add the onions and sauté it.
3. Next add the curry leaves, chilli, ginger and garlic, stir well and let the raw smell go away.
4. Now add the shredded fish meat and mix it well with all the ingredients in the pan. Before taking off the heat, sprinkle pepper powder and mix well again.

Note : It is preferable to buy fillets as you will need to remove the skin and de- bone the fish once it is cooked and cools down. You can make this dish with any large fish or shark meat.

Puttu is very simple to make, it is a very heart warming dish and never fails to satisfy!