Dry Fish Chutney (Nungel Meen Chutney)
If you haven’t heard of dried fish (nungel meen) chutney before, it is a tangy and spicy chutney, made from dried fish, usually a shrimp, mackerel, anchovies or shark fish. A popular side dish with fish-eating communities across India, fish chutney is made by slow roasting dried fish in a bit of oil and coarsely grinding the roasted fish with freshly grated coconut, garlic cloves, and a few other spices. Finally, a tad bit of tamarind is added to bring about the right amount of tanginess in the dish.Pair this meen chutney with yogurt rice (dahi rice) or Ganji dish and it will instantly add that extra bit of flavor to your meal, making it an absolute lip smacker.
Servings: 2 cups
Ingredients
- 50 gms dried fish, dried shark fish, anchovies or dried prawns/shrimp
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 8-10 byadgi chilies, can substitute with Kashmiri chillies
- 1 tbsp coriander, dhania seeds
- 1/4 tsp cumin, jeera seeds
- a pinch of fenugreek, methi seeds
- a pinch of carom, ajwain seeds
- 8-10 whole black peppercorns
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 cup onions, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp tamarind paste, size of a small marble if using fresh tamarind
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 cups freshly grated coconut
Instructions
- Slowly roast the dried fish over medium-low heat for approximately 10-15 minutes. Turn off the heat when the fish has turned crispy and can easily be broken to pieces. Break them into bite size pieces and discard the tail (if using shark fish or thatte). Set it aside to cool.
- Heat a teaspoon of coconut oil in a medium sized pan and over medium heat.
- Add chilies to it and roast them till an aroma emanates from it. Remove the chilies and keep it aside.
- Roast remaining ingredients (coriander seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns, ajwain and fenugreek seeds and turmeric powder) for a minute or till it turns aromatic. Set it aside to cool it down (for approximately 10 minutes)
- Transfer them to a blender along with the chilies, onions, garlic and tamarind paste and grind them to a fine paste. Add the coconut and pulse 2-3 times. Transfer the coconut-spice powder to a bowl and mix the fried fish.
- Store in an air-tight container in a refrigerator and consume within 4-5 days.
Notes
To make your dried fish chutney last for a month or so, do not add onions and instead of freshly grated coconut use dried coconut flakes (copra) in the same ratio. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
By 
ForthFocus™