Whenever my in laws visited us in Bangalore, my father in law used to get variety of fish and ask my mom in law to prepare different dishes for us. He used to think that we don't know to prepare fish here. Yes, during the initial days, I did not know to cook fish. But soon I learnt it. But still my father-in-law would feel that we are missing all the yummy fish from Goa and hence my mom in law used to make several types of dishes. That was how I learnt to make today's dish i.e. Mori Mutton or Shark curry. In Goa shark is called Mori in Konkani. Also we have used baby shark or small shark fish not the huge ones that swim in the oceans :)
My mom in law would always sort out the ingredients separately and keep all of them handy while cooking her recipes. I too do the same now. I miss my father in law but. I wish he was here with me in Bangalore to taste the "Mori Mutton" as he would always say.
My hubby brought 1/2 kg cleaned and de-skinned shark pieces the other day and asked me to make the same shark curry which my mom in law would make. It was the first time that I cooked shark. Yea, it was a baby shark. Always remember to buy tender pieces of shark while buying. Get it de-skinned and chopped as it is very tough to de-skin at home. Ensure that the skin is completely removed. Also do not buy the double mouthed shark, just a single mouth one should be bought for consuming. We Goan's do not eat the double mouthed ones, we call them "toki".
No I did not eat this fish as I am very choosy as to what I eat. I eat only a few varieties of fish. This fish also stinks a lot so it is very important to marinate it. Just simple application of chilly powder, turmeric powder and salt does not help. We have to marinate it just like we do for chicken. That is what my mom in law told me.
Also if the shark is very hard, it won't cook soon unlike other fish which cooks very soon. In those cases it is recommended to pressure cook the marinated shark pieces in a pressure cooker and later to add them to the dish after frying onions. Yes I did taste the curry and it was super awesome and spicy. All the flavors of various spices blended well into the shark curry.
Since then I have made this curry 3 times and hubby just loves it. The curry tastes even better on the next day, but remember to add less salt as the shark already has lot of salt content in it and it releases more salt into the curry. Enjoy this curry with rice or chapatis or just make some Goan pav and have a great meal.
Ingredients: Prep. Time: 1 hr, Serves: 6
1/2 kg small shark/baby shark
2 cups grated coconut
8 peppercorns
3 cloves
1 inch cinnamon stick
6 Kashmiri dry red chilies
1 tsp turmeric powder
10 garlic cloves
1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
2 medium sized onions
Oil as needed
1 marble sized ball of tamarind
1 tsp turmeric powder
For Marination:
1 bunch cilantro/coriander leaves
1 inch ginger
15 garlic pods
1 tbsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp red chilly powder
1 tsp salt
Procedure:
Clean the shark and remove its skin entirely. Chop into 1-2 inch pieces.
I got the shark cleaned, de-skinned and chopped from the fish stall at the supermarket.
For marination:
Wash the shark pieces and apply turmeric powder, red chilly powder and salt.
Make a paste out of coriander leaves, ginger and garlic pods by adding sufficient water or 1/2 cup water.
Apply this to the chopped shark pieces. Keep this aside for 30 Min's to 1 hour in the freezer.
For the gravy:
Chop the onions into small pieces and keep it aside.
In a pan/kadai/wok, add oil and roast the spices mentioned above like peppercorns, cloves, coriander seeds, cinnamon stick and red chilies for 2 Min's.
Once roasted, add 3/4 of the chopped onions and fry till they become pinkish.
Add chopped garlic and fry till raw smell of garlic goes away.
Add grated coconut and roast it low flame till the coconut gets brownish.
Add tamarind, stir and immediately switch of the gas.
After switching off the gas add turmeric powder and mix well.
Grind this to a gravy of medium consistency by adding 1 cup water or as needed after cooling. Keep it aside.
Now in the same wok which was used to roast the spices and coconut, add 3 tablespoon oil and fry the remaining chopped onions. Once they turn pinkish, add the marinated shark pieces and fry for 10 Min's.
Now pour the ground gravy into this onion shark mixture and let it get cooked for 30 Min's on low flame. Keep stirring in between to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the wok/kadai.
After 30 Min's or after the shark pieces are cooked, add salt to taste and garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.
Note: Add salt slightly lesser than needed as shark contains salt in it.
Be sure to de-skin the shark in fish stall itself. The skin is very hard and is difficult to remove at home.
If the shark does not get cooked within 30 Min's, simply remove the shark pieces from the curry and and pressure cook it for 5-6 whistles by adding 1 cup water. Later the pressure cooked shark pieces can be mixed in the gravy.
Serve with rice, pav or chapatis.
For more interesting posts of this type follow Raksha's Kitchen on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest1/2 kg small shark/baby shark
2 cups grated coconut
8 peppercorns
3 cloves
1 inch cinnamon stick
6 Kashmiri dry red chilies
1 tsp turmeric powder
10 garlic cloves
1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
2 medium sized onions
Oil as needed
1 marble sized ball of tamarind
1 tsp turmeric powder
For Marination:
1 bunch cilantro/coriander leaves
1 inch ginger
15 garlic pods
1 tbsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp red chilly powder
1 tsp salt
Procedure:
Clean the shark and remove its skin entirely. Chop into 1-2 inch pieces.
I got the shark cleaned, de-skinned and chopped from the fish stall at the supermarket.
For marination:
Wash the shark pieces and apply turmeric powder, red chilly powder and salt.
Make a paste out of coriander leaves, ginger and garlic pods by adding sufficient water or 1/2 cup water.
Apply this to the chopped shark pieces. Keep this aside for 30 Min's to 1 hour in the freezer.
For the gravy:
Chop the onions into small pieces and keep it aside.
In a pan/kadai/wok, add oil and roast the spices mentioned above like peppercorns, cloves, coriander seeds, cinnamon stick and red chilies for 2 Min's.
Once roasted, add 3/4 of the chopped onions and fry till they become pinkish.
Add chopped garlic and fry till raw smell of garlic goes away.
Add grated coconut and roast it low flame till the coconut gets brownish.
Add tamarind, stir and immediately switch of the gas.
After switching off the gas add turmeric powder and mix well.
Grind this to a gravy of medium consistency by adding 1 cup water or as needed after cooling. Keep it aside.
Now in the same wok which was used to roast the spices and coconut, add 3 tablespoon oil and fry the remaining chopped onions. Once they turn pinkish, add the marinated shark pieces and fry for 10 Min's.
Now pour the ground gravy into this onion shark mixture and let it get cooked for 30 Min's on low flame. Keep stirring in between to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the wok/kadai.
After 30 Min's or after the shark pieces are cooked, add salt to taste and garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.
Note: Add salt slightly lesser than needed as shark contains salt in it.
Be sure to de-skin the shark in fish stall itself. The skin is very hard and is difficult to remove at home.
If the shark does not get cooked within 30 Min's, simply remove the shark pieces from the curry and and pressure cook it for 5-6 whistles by adding 1 cup water. Later the pressure cooked shark pieces can be mixed in the gravy.
Serve with rice, pav or chapatis.
