PriyaVijayKitchen: Ayirai Meen Kuzhambu - Ayirai Fish Curry - Ayirai Fish Kuzhambu - Fish Recipes

Ayirai Meen Kuzhambu

Ayirai meen in Tamil is called as Indian spiny loach in English. This fish is famous in southern part of Tamil Nadu especially in Madurai.

It is a tiny live fish, which has high nutritional and medicinal value. Rich in calcium, as it consumed as a whole where bones are not discarded unlike we do for other fish.

It is a fresh water fish available in rivers, lakes and ponds. So it has less saline in their body. This fish has high demand, hence very high commercial value and its price is usually priced between Rs. 1200 to Rs. 1500 per kg.

Also I read an article in 'The Hindu', says Ayirai meen would soon be recognized as a state fish of Tamil Nadu.

Among all fish varieties, I love to eat this fish a lot. May be because of its taste and flavor the kuzhambu has after cooking. Whenever I go to my hometown (Sivakasi) mom used to prepare Ayirai meen kuzhambu at least once/twice in the vacation. As it has very high demand mom used to prebook it before our arrival. Moms are always sweet rightJ.

Who will not like this mouthwatering dish to eat? I guess, most of the non-vegetarian I will like it. Whoever tasted this dish at-least once definitely next time they will be tempted to eat. With no more further delay let’s jump into the preparation process.

Other Seafood Recipes:

Dry Fish Kootu – Dry Fish Curry

Prawn Pepper Fry - Iral Milagu Varuval

Prawn Masala - Prawn Curry Masala

Click here to check out the Health benefits of each ingredients used in this recipe.

.............................Have a Quick look.................................

Ingredients Needed:

Ayirai Meen (Indian Spiny Loach) - ½ Kg

Shallots – 10 to 15

Garlic pods – 5

Jeera – ½ tbsp.

Kuzhambu masala powder (homemade) – 1 ½ tbsp.

Gingerly oil – 2 tbsp

Tamarind – big lemon size

Preparation:

Clean the fish properly and keep it aside.

Add shallots, cumin seeds and garlic pods in mixer grinder and make it into fine paste.

Prepare thick tamarind pulp.

Method:

In pan add gingerly oil. [Note: you can also use coconut as well]. Once oil gets heated up, add in prepared tamarind pulp.

Add 1 ½ tbsp. of homemade kuzhambu masalapowder. Add salt as per your taste.

Now add the grounded masala paste and ¼ cup of water and mix well. [Note: Make sure gravy is in thick consistency it should not be watery]

Allow it to boil for around 6 to 7 minutes, then add cleaned ayirai meen (indian spiny loach).

Let it boil for another 5 minutes. Now ayirai meen kuzhambu is ready!

Preparation Time	Cooking Time	Serves
10 mins	20 mins	3 - 4

Author: Mano Priya Vijay

Ingredients Needed
Ayirai Meen (Indian Spiny Loach) - ½ Kg
Shallots – 10 to 15
Garlic pods – 5
Jeera – ½ tbsp.
Kuzhambu masala powder (homemade) – 1 ½ tbsp.
Gingerly oil – 2 tbsp
Tamarind – big lemon size

Preparation:

Cleaning

Cleaning Ayirai meen is not a very tedious job J because no cutting processJ. Actually cleaning ayirai is little time consuming job, it’s not just enough to clean them in the running water. Since it is a very tiny fish, we can’t clean each of them separately. Also it is a fresh water fish which has slimy mucus formation on their skin surface. If not cleaned properly then there will be foul smell in the dish.

Okay now let’s move on to cleaning process.

Since it a live fish it better to have them in the closed container so that it will not jump outside. First step is to add handful of rock salt to the container to make them dehydrated and now they are live no more. Please close the container with the lid as soon as you add rock salt, they will be very vigorous as soon as you add salt and it will settle in few minutes.

Once it got settles down, add some more salt and start cleaning by rubbing against the container. [Note: It’s better to use iron container or container having little rough surface.] Traditionally people used to clean with sand but nowadays we the apartment beings not able to use sand. So we can use rock salt.

Repeat the process for another 4 to 5 times until you get the shiny skin surface. Again I am insisting, cleaning is the most important process though it is time consuming, do it very patiently.

[Note: Please add milk to the live fish to clean toxic materials if any inside the fish stomach. Then start cleaning]

Preparation:

1. Clean the fish properly and keep it aside.

2. Add shallots, cumin seeds and garlic pods in mixer grinder and make it into fine paste.

3. Prepare thick tamarind pulp.

Method:

In pan add gingerly oil. [Note: you can also use coconut as well]. Once oil gets heated up, add in prepared tamarind pulp. [Note: No seasoning required for this recipe because seasoning will change the flavor and taste of kuzhambu. Seasoned flavor would be dominating.]

Add 1 ½ tbsp. of homemade kuzhambu masala powder. [Note: If you don’t have homemade masala powder then you can use 1 tsp of turmeric powder, 1 tbsp of red chili powder, 2 tbsp of coriander powder, ¼ tsp of cumin powder, ¼ tsp of pepper powder.] Add salt as per your taste.

Homemade Kuzhambu Masala Powder

Now add the grounded masala paste and ¼ cup of water and mix well. [Note: Make sure gravy is in thick consistency it should not be watery.]

Allow it to boil for around 6 to 7 minutes, then add cleaned ayirai meen (Indian spiny loach).

Let it boil for another 5 minutes. Now ayirai meen kuzhambu is ready! Goes well with white rice, Idly, Dosai.

Tip 1:

For any fish kuzhambu, use thick tamarind pulp and use little more tamarind compared we use for other puli kuzhambu varieties. Tangy taste gives you added taste to the dish.

Tip 2:
If you are preparing any fish variety for your meal, first prepare fish kuzhambu then you can prepare fish fry, fish kootu and other varieties, so that flavor and tangy taste will get inside the fish and vice versa fish flavor to the kuzhambu. That makes perfect fish kuzhambu.]

Health benefits of each Ingredients used in this recipe:

In Tamil there is a saying “Unavae Marunthu, Marunthae Unavu” means “Food is Medicine, Medicine is Food”. In respect to the saying, each and every food we intake in our day to day life has lots of health benefits excluding junk foods and tin packed foods, of course they contain preservatives which is unhealthy.

In Indian cuisines, we use lot of ingredients in our making of recipes, which benefits us in many ways. We use them not only for their flavor and taste but for its nutritional and medicinal value as well. If we look deeper into the traditional way of cooking, all the ingredients used in each recipes are well balanced both nutritionally and medicinally.

Each ingredients have many many health benefits but without knowing their health benefits we are using them daily. Let us know at least their important health benefits before we use and eat.

Here I have listed the health benefits of each ingredients I used in the recipe.

Ingredient 1:

Ayirai Meen – also known as Indian Spiny Loach in English, Ayirai in Tamil. It is rich in calcium and are low in fat but high in protein. Though not rich in healthy omega 3 fatty acids like ocean fish they are nutritious as well.

Ingredient 2:

Shallots – known as Chinna Vengayam in Tamil, Ulli in Malayalam, Ullipaaya in Telugu, Chikk-Eerulli in Kannada, Chotta Pyaz in Hindi. Shallots are one of the variety of onions and it belongs to the family of garlic and onions. In Indian cuisine shallots place a major role. They not only have high nutritional value, also have high medicinal value. They are used in the healing process in Ayurveda treatment. Shallots makes our body cool ie., it have cooling effect on the body hence they help in lowering inflammation, swelling etc., In simple words we can put it as shallots are Anti-inflammatory, Antioxidant, helps in lowering cholesterol, maintain blood pressure, to control diabetics.

Ingredient 3:

Garlic – also known as Vellai Poondu in Tamil, Vellulli in Telugu, Veluthulli in Malayalam, Bellulli in Kannada, Lasun in Hindi. As we all know garlic has many medicinal value, list goes very long. Helps in lowering Cholesterol levels, boosts immunity and digestive systems, helps to treat cough and cold, helps to lower blood pressure, gives relief from intestinal problems, boosts immunity, good source of vitamin C and B6, antioxidant, cancer fighter, natural antibiotic and the list goes on…..

Ingredient 4:

Cumin Seeds – also known as Jeerakam in Tamil and Malayalam, Jeelakara in Telugu, Jeerige in Kannada, Jeera in Hindi. My Ayurveda doctor advise me to drink a glass of Jeera water on an empty stomach early in the morning which is a natural remedy for various health problems. It is a very good source of Iron thus helps to treat anaemia and boosts immunity. Drinking a glass of jeera water during menstrual cycle helps in reducing the stomach pain. During my pregnancy, doctor advised to take jeera water daily which improves digestion.

Ingredient 5:

Gingerly Oil – also known as Nallenai in Tamil, Nuvalu Nuna in Telugu, Nallenna in Malayalam, Ellenai in Kannada, Thil Ka Tel in Hindi. Gingerly oil have significant health benefits. South Indians widely use gingerly oil in their cooking. It is a good source of Vitamin D, E and B complex and antioxidants. Apart from it they are also used in cosmetic purposes, as they promotes healthy skin, reduces pimples and rashes by preventing bacterial infections, very good factor of gingerly oil is, it slows down aging of skin. We, the Tamilians have a tradition of taking oil bath (using gingerly oil) every Saturday by massaging the entire body and head. Massaging removes toxins from you and leaves you detoxified and bathing removes heat from the body. We religiously follow this tradition where new borns also have no exception.

Ingredient 6:

Tamarind – also known as Puli in Tamil and Malayalam, Chinthapandu in Telugu, Huli in Kannada, Imli in Hindi. Tamarind is a kind of fruit with have sweet and sour taste. Tamarind plays a major role in South Indian cooking, after cooking each dishes we used to ask Uppu (salt), Puli (Tamarind), Karam (Spiciness) correct ah irrukka? means if the saltness, sourness and spiciness is in correct level in the dish? That’s how puli plays major role in south indian cuisine. It improves digestion, aids weight loss, boosts immunity, rich source of vitamin C