Buthai Pulimunchi is one of those curries that becomes even more delicious with a little time. We always make a little extra, so there is some to enjoy with the simplest meals afterwards. Hot red rice, dal, a little salad and a spoonful of that thick, tangy masala. That is a weekday lunch I love.
This is my grandma’s simpler version. Tamarind and dried red chillies make the masala, while garlic, ginger and onions cook in a generous amount of coconut oil. There is so much flavour in that little combination.
Pulimunchi takes its name from puli, tamarind, and munchi, chillies. In our Mangalorean kitchens, there are different versions for fish, chicken and vegetables. For fish, I especially like sardines or mackerel. A bisale, our clay cooking pot, makes it lovely, especially when cooked over a traditional dhikel. A heavy pan works in my kitchen too.
We like the gravy on the thicker side. By the next day, the flavour settles beautifully into the sardines. In the lunch I shared in my photograph, it was the third day’s curry, with that almost pickle-like intensity alongside dal and rice. A little pulimunchi can make a simple meal feel complete.
Buthai Pulimunchi / Mangalorean Sardine Curry
Ingredients
For the fish
- 500 g sardines (buthai), cleaned
- A little turmeric, for the cleaning step
- Sea salt, for the cleaning step
For the masala
- 7–8 dried red chillies, a mixture of Byadgi and Kashmiri
- A lime-sized piece of tamarind
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- A little oil, for roasting the chillies
- Water, as needed for grinding and adjusting the gravy
- Salt, to taste
For the base
- 2–3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 3 garlic cloves, skin on, lightly pounded
- 2–3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1½ teaspoons chopped ginger
- 1–2 green chillies, chopped
Instructions
Method
- Prepare the sardines. Clean the sardines well. Coat with a little turmeric and sea salt, leave for 10 minutes in the refrigerator, then give them a final gentle rinse and drain. Keep the fish chilled until needed.
- Make the masala. Roast the dried red chillies in a little oil until fragrant, without burning them. Cool, then grind with the tamarind and teaspoon of turmeric, adding enough water to make a smooth paste.
- Cook the aromatic base. Heat the coconut oil in a bisale or heavy pan. Add the pounded skin-on garlic and chopped garlic, followed by the onion, ginger and green chillies.
- Add the masala. Once the onions are translucent, stir in the masala paste. Add water to reach your preferred gravy consistency. We keep it fairly thick. Season with salt and bring to a rolling boil.
- Cook the sardines gently. Lower the sardines into the boiling masala one by one, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Shake or swirl the pan carefully to coat them rather than stirring with a ladle, which can break the fish. Cook until the sardines are done through and the flesh is opaque and separates easily. Cooking time depends on their size; avoid prolonged cooking that breaks them apart.
- Serve, or make ahead. Serve with hot red rice. For the more settled flavour we enjoy later that day or the next day, cool and refrigerate promptly, then reheat only the portion needed before serving.
Notes
- Coconut oil is part of the flavour of this version. The masala itself has no grated coconut.
- Keep both the pounded and chopped garlic, as in my original recipe.
- Use enough water to grind the masala smoothly, then adjust the gravy in the pan. There is no fixed water quantity in my recipe.
- Shake the pan gently after adding the sardines instead of stirring them with a ladle.
For another fish recipe from my kitchen, try Meen Tawa Fry.
