Meen Achar (Fish Pickle)

                           
                 Well, Pickle, the spiciest preparation in Indian cooking ,is something which really tickles your taste buds. It's the one and only thing which has always left me drooling just by the mention of it not to mention if i sniff it...like the 'dog of Pavlov'...though I am not a pickle crazy fella. What should I say?  May be your brain registers more details from past encounters than your mind can hold on..


                 When my neighbours bring us pickles,I must politely say 'no' because my husband hates pickles, which leaves me with two options: Either throw it out or have it by myself..and I usually resort to the latter, for I told you there is some problem with my tongue when I smell them..I cannot abstain, no matter how fervently I try, and end up making my acidity shoot up.


                 So it was not like me to spend a Saturday evening making pickles,until I got these shark meat in promotion. Like most people,my husband too has this hilarious habit of buying an awful lot of things, without deciding whether you need it or not, if they are in promotion.It left me scratching my head as to what I'm gonna do with a lot of shark meat.Suddenly the idea of pickling dawned on me as I remembered the fish pickle my friend,S used to bring at college,which her father prepared.We had all taken turns to ask him the recipe, coz it was so yummy that we practically eated out from the jar until the bottom was clean.So I decided to save my promotion shark meat by pickling it.

 PS: It was my 'pickle hating hubby' who actually helped himself to the better part of my shark pickle, after all.. :-)
                 Coming to the recipe..


 Meen Achar (Fish Pickle )                        

Things you will need:                                                


1 kg Fresh shark meat(or any other fish with plenty of flesh and less bones.
            Shell fishes like mussels and clams also taste gorgeous)
1/4 cup thinly sliced ginger
1/4 cup thinly sliced garlic
5 slit green chillies
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
2 tbsp kashmeeri chilly powder or paprika
2 tsp pepper powder
1 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste
Gingelly oil or sesame oil (as required)

Preparation:

• Wash and cut the fish to small square pieces and drain. Marinate in 1/2 tbsp chilly powder,2 tsp pepper powder,1 tsp turmeric powder and salt for half an hour.
• Fry the fish in sesame oil and keep it aside.
• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and splutter the mustard seeds and then put in the fenugreek seeds and curry leaves.
• Add sliced ginger,garlic and green chillies and saute.
• Add the remaining chilly powder and saute. Then add fried fish with  more sesame oil.Heat it until the oil becomes hot.Add the vinegar and salt to this and switch off the flame.
• Mix everything thoroughly.

         NB: The fish pieces must stand totally submerged in the gravy.