Kottayam style Fish Molee, Fish Molly, Fish Moly

1. Marinate the fish pieces with the items mentioned under 'For Marination'. Set aside for half an hour.
2. Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry the marinated fish pieces. No need to turn it brown. Remove from oil and keep it in a paper towel.
3. Heat coconut oil in a pan, add in the whole spices and fry for a minute.
4. Add in the sliced onions and saute till the onion turns slightly translucent.
5. Now add the chopped ginger, garlic, green chilies and saute till the raw smell disappears.
6. Add in half of the sliced tomatoes and saute for 2-3 minutes.
7. Add in the turmeric powder, pepper powder, garam masala powder and fry for a minute.
8. Set heat to very low. Pour 2 cups of thin coconut milk and cook for 5 minutes on low heat. Make sure its not boiling.
9. When the curry is hot, add in the shallow fried fish pieces, curry leaves and cook on low heat till the gravy thickens. Stir occasionally. Make sure that the gravy doesn't boil.
10. Check for salt. If you are using cornflour, add at this stage.
11. Finally, add in the thick coconut milk, remaining sliced tomatoes and cook for another 3-4 minutes on low heat.
12. Remove from heat and keep covered for 10 minutes. Fish molee is ready! Serve warm with palappam, idiyappam etc.

Notes:

• The coconut milk can separate, if you boil the curry. So be careful not to boil the gravy at any time, when you prepare fish molee.
• You can use King Fish(Neymeen or aikoora), Pomfret(avoli) or Pearl Spot(karimeen) for making Fish Molee.
• If you want the gravy thicker, add cornflour into the curry.