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Buthai pulimunchi sardine curry served with rice, dal and salad

Buthai Pulimunchi / Mangalorean Sardine Curry

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Course Main Course
Cuisine Mangalorean

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

This is lovely as the main curry with rice, or as a tangy accompaniment to dal, rice and salad. Its concentrated flavour is especially good with a simple meal.
If keeping it for later, refrigerate in shallow containers within 2 hours of cooking. Enjoy within 2–3 days. Reheat the serving you need thoroughly to 74°C. The resting time is in the refrigerator; the tamarind does not make the fish curry shelf-stable.
  • 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.