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Tuna pickle

AI-drafted · awaiting admin review

Fried tuna pieces preserved in a vinegar, chilli and garlic masala, made to last through the monsoon.

Region: LakshadweepOccasion: Made before the monsoon; eaten through the yearTime: 1 hourServes: About 750 gNon-vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 500 g fresh tuna, cut into small cubes
  • 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chilli powder, salt (for marinating)
  • ½ cup coconut oil or gingelly oil
  • 2 tbsp chopped garlic, 2 tbsp chopped ginger, 4 green chillies
  • 3 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder, ½ tsp fenugreek powder, a pinch of hing
  • ½ cup vinegar
  • Curry leaves, 1 tsp mustard seeds

Method

  1. Marinate the tuna in turmeric, chilli and salt for 30 minutes, then fry until crisp. Drain.
  2. In the same oil, splutter mustard seeds and add curry leaves, garlic, ginger and green chillies.
  3. Lower the heat and stir in the chilli powder, fenugreek and hing.
  4. Add the vinegar and bring to a boil, then add the fried tuna and mix well. Adjust salt.
  5. Cool completely and store in a dry glass jar with oil covering the top.

History

Pickling and drying fish are old ways of storing the catch on islands where fresh food from the mainland arrives only by ship.

Significance

Fish pickle is stocked up before the monsoon, when fishing slows and boats from the mainland are fewer.

Sources