A childhood fish delicacy, full of nostalgia, one has to experience the taste to appreciate it. Curries like this, rarely appear on the menus of any Indian restaurants here in Sydney or other states, possibly because most restaurants are North Indian and Mangalorean food is not represented well enough for this Lady Fish | Kaane Jeere Meeri | Cumin Pepper Curry to appear on any menus. What usually appears on the menu is ‘Goan Fish Curry’ or ‘Kerala Fish Moilee’ or ‘Malabar Prawn Curry’. These curries are authentic in their own right however, I am a South Indian and I love Mangalorean fish curries like no other. I know for sure most Mangies would relate to this!!

Born into a middle-class family in the then sleepy town of Udupi, I had no official links with the culinary world. From time to time, my mother and grandmother referred to ‘The Chef’ authored by my grand-uncle Isidore Coelho when they were looking for inspiration to cook authentic Mangalorean food. But for me, my mother was truly one of my greatest inspirations. With limited resources, she turned out the most wonderful meals on her little kerosene-fired stove or wood-fired oven when I was a child. Going to the garden to pick up some twigs and using these twigs to cook an authentic fish curry in an clay pot (called kundlem – pronounced kund-lay) was very much a part of my childhood days.

It was here that my mother taught me that cooking is about caring, and the gratitude from those who enjoy it is your reward.

It was here that my mother taught me to be open-minded about food and to eat all types of meat, fish, vegetables and anything that was laid on the table.

It was here in my adolescent years that she taught me to prepare this spicy yet coconut-free fish curry. Thank you ma, my family enjoys this tangy, spicy and flavoursome curry, which I make usually during the Lenten season.

Lady Fish is a beautiful silvery looking fish and just for the record, all Mangaloreans simply adore this fish. It is known by a couple of names, ‘Kaane’ (pronounced kaa-neigh) or ‘Noguli’ in Konkani and ‘Whiting’ or ‘Sand Whiting’ in English. It is by far, one of the most expensive fishes sold in Mangalore.

As the flesh is soft, very low in oil and easy to digest, this fish is considered to be very suitable for invalids either steamed, poached or as a pepper fry. This is also a fish of choice for post-partum women in Mangalore, cooked in a coconut free curry, which curry also happens to be a delicacy in Karnataka.

This fish is found in the tropical backwaters as well as caught in large numbers on the East coast of India from May to December. They are a shy fish and known to bury themselves in the sand at the slightest appearance of danger. They are not an easy catch as they are known to disappear immediately even on cloudy days and emerge only months later.

In Australia, this fish is caught mostly off Southern Queensland and central to North New South Wales. It is also wild-caught mainly in sheltered bays and estuaries over mud or silt, in mangrove creeks and river mouths along the east coast.

In Konkani, my mother-tongue, Jeere = Cumin and Meeri = Pepper which essentially means it is a Cumin and Pepper based Curry. Although the earthy and warming flavours come from cumin and pepper, the colour and spiciness is achieved by adding Kashmiri chillies/chilli powder.

The west coast of India is laden with beautiful coconut plantations and most fish curries are coconut based. Traditionally, Lady Fish/Kaane are cooked in a delicious coconut based curry. That said, many white flesh fishes are also cooked in a spice based curry but without the use of coconut eg., pomfrets and silver fish (bolanjir) making these curries quite popular in many Mangalorean kitchens. I love my fish curries both with coconut and without.

This traditional Lady Fish/Kaane Jeere Meeri curry is a family favourite and is prepared without coconut. You can also use the same recipe to make ‘Pomfret Jeere Meeri’. It is prepared by blending a selection of spices which form the base for this spicy curry. If you want to decrease the spice level, you can either decrease the number of Kashmiri chillies and dried long red chillies. Alternatively, you can remove the seeds from half the Kashmiri chillies and all the dried long red chillies. I like mine spicy but not necessarily hot!!

The seasoning or tempering made with oil and onion, adds another layer of flavour to the fish. Spread this tempering over the fish and serve the fish curry hot on a bed of steamed rice.

This fish is available in most local fish shops and is usually sold for approximately $24.00 to $30.00 per kilo. In my opinion, medium size fish taste better than large fish. If you are buying whole fish, ask the fishmonger to scale and clean the fish. Once you get home, scale the fish again, trim the golden yellow fins and clean out the remaining gut, as the fishmongers will clean the fish roughly. Wash the fish well once scaled, feel with your fingers to check if there are more scales. Scale the fish again, if required.

This fish is also sold as fillets in some fish shops. If they are not filletted, ask your fishmonger and they will fillet it for you. I personally like the whole fish as I am used to eating fish with bones. Fillets of this fish are recommended for children, if they are not confident of eating fish with bones.

I hope you enjoy making this Mangalorean Lady Fish delicacy and share it with your families!!