Pepper Fennel Fish Fry

Ingredients

• half a kilo katla fish, cut in pieces (கட்லா மீன்)
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 3 tsp black pepper, freshly powdered (மிளகு)
• 2 tsp fennel seeds, powdered (சோம்பு)
• 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 2 green chillies, finely chopped
• as needed salt
• as needed ghee
• a little curry leaves

Method

1. Pat the cleaned fish dry and marinate with salt, lemon juice and turmeric for 30 minutes.
2. Heat ghee in a wide pan and saute the green chillies and ginger-garlic paste.
3. Lay the fish pieces in a single layer, cover and cook 2 minutes; uncover, wait a minute, flip and cook 2 more minutes.
4. Sprinkle the pepper and fennel powders over both sides and cook another 2 minutes on medium heat, adding more ghee if needed.
5. Finish with fried curry leaves.

Adapted from பேலியோ ஆரோக்கிய சமையல் (Paleo Arokkiya Samaiyal) by Rtn Kannan Azhagirisamy, page 56. Method rewritten in our own words; ingredient quantities follow the book, with gram weights estimated for the nutrition figures. The book thanks the Arokkiya Unavugal (Healthy Foods) Facebook group and tamilpaleorecipes.com.