SALMON FISH PICKLE RECIPE
Simple yet spicy and tangy Kerala (South India) style Salmon fish pickle is a perfect combo for rice.
Equipment
- 2 Glass Bowls
- 1 Knife
- 1 Chopping Board
- 1 Frying Pan
- 1 Sauce Pan
Ingredients
To Make Fried Fish:
- 1 Kilogram Salmon fish (2 pounds/ lb)
- 1 tsp Salt or as per taste
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
- ¼ tsp Fenugreek powder
- 2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chili powder
- 1½ tsp Red Chili powder
- 1 tbsp Crushed Ginger-Garlic
- 2 tsp White Vinegar
- Coconut oil / Sesame oil enough to fry
- 6 Green Chilies
- 3 sprigs Curry Leaves
- 1 tbsp Julienne cut Ginger
- 10-15 cloves Garlic (sliced if big)
To Make the Masala Paste and Gravy:
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
- ¼ tsp Fenugreek powder
- 2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chili powder
- 1½ tsp Red Chili powder
- 1 tsp Salt or as per taste
- ½ cup Water or as required
- 2 tbsp Sesame / Gingely oil
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
- 5 to 6 Dried Red Chilies
- 2 tsp Asafeotida powder
- 1 cup White Vinegar
Instructions
- Clean the salmon and remove its skin and bones. Pat dry the fish using a cloth or paper towel. Cut it into bite-size pieces.
- Combine the ingredients to make fried fish (ingredients from 1 - 8) together and marinate the fish for half an hour.
- Into a sauce pot, pour 1 cup white vinegar and bring it to boil. Once it starts to boil, turn off the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature. (Refer Note: 1 )
- Heat a frying pan on medium. Then add coconut/sesame oil, enough to fry. Once the oil is hot, fry the marinated fish pieces in small batches. Do not disturb the fish pieces for 2 minutes. Then, lightly stir the fish pieces and fry each side until it gets crispy and golden brown in color. It takes approximately 8 to 10 minutes to fry both sides. Transfer this to a bowl.
- Reduce the heat to low. Fry green chilies and curry leaves in the same oil until crisp. Remove this to the bowl with fried fish.
- Then fry julienne cut ginger until it becomes light brown ( do not burn ) in color and move to the bowl.
- Finally, add garlic cloves and fry till crisp and golden in color. Transfer this to the bowl with fried fish and set aside. ( Refer Note: 5 )
- In a small bowl combine the ingredients to make masala paste (turmeric powder, fenugreek powder, Kashmiri red chili powder, red chili powder and salt). Add water little by little to make a thick paste. ( Refer Note: 2 )
- Place a heavy bottom pan on medium heat. Add sesame oil. Splutter mustard seeds and fry dried red chilies.
- Add asafoetida powder and masala paste to the oil. ( Refer Note: 3 ) Fry it for a minute and add 1/4 cup water. Cook till the raw smell goes.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the fried fish along with fried curry leaves, green chilies, ginger and garlic. Combine everything well.
- Turn off the heat. Pour the cooled down vinegar to the fish masala and mix well. Allow the pickle to cool completely to room temperature.
- Transfer the fish pickle to an air tight and cleaned jar / container. You can use this immediately. But it tastes better after a week. ( Refer Note: 4 )
Video
Notes
- Boiled vinegar helps to blend the flavors together. It also helps with speeding up the pickling process.
- Making a masala paste for the gravy prevents the masala powders from burning while frying in oil with mustard seeds and dried red chilis. This step is completely optional.
- If you are adding masala powders in to the oil, instead of masala paste, reduce the heat to low before adding the powders. This will minimize the risk of burning the masala powders.
- We can store the salmon fish pickle in an air tight (glass) jar or container in room temperature for up to a month. It stays up to 6
- Optional Step: Strain the sesame oil used to fry the fish pieces. Once it is cooled completely, add this to the fish pickle, that is transferred to the jar or container. Sesame oil acts as a preservative and helps to store the pickle longer months in refrigerator.