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You are here: Home / Kerala Recipes / Kerala fish pickle recipe, Instant meen achar recipe

Kerala fish pickle recipe, Instant meen achar recipe

November 1, 2022 14 Comments

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Kerala fish pickle is the bomb. Really. If you love seafood and you haven’t tried the Kerala version of fish pickle or meen achar, you are truly missing out. Now, the bottled fish pickle you get in supermarkets in Kerala are a bit too heavily preserved so if you want the real deal, make some at home because it’s really easy.

kerala fish pickle recipe meen achar Pin

As a spoilt third child with a very active mom, I never really make fish pickle myself. On visits to Kottayam, a couple days before my return flight, Amma sources some good firm-fleshed fish (usually King fish or neimeen) and fills up a large glass bottle of homemade Kerala fish pickle for me. I then freeze it upon reaching Singapore and use it for many months. My mom refuses to use too many preservatives in her fish pickle so it doesn’t have a very long shelf-life. Freezing helps with this and I take out a small amount and keep it refrigerated, helping myself now and then until it runs out. Then I refill it.

Anyway, there was in-between dry spell when I hadn’t been to Kottayam in a while and I was really craving some good Kerala meen achar. Tried a bottle of pickle from Mustafa stores and it just wasn’t the same so I set out on this task to make it myself. Got the recipe from Amma (she refused to give it to me saying “no need to make it yourself” but finally relented) and I realised how easy it really is.

More pickle awesomeness from my mom’s kitchen. Click on pictures below for recipe.

Chambakka Pickle Recipe, Kerala Water Rose Apple PicklePin lime pickle recipePin instant mango pickle recipePin

kerala fish pickle recipe meen acharPin

Kerala fish pickle recipe

nags
Kerala fish pickle recipe, an easy and Instant fish pickle made Kerala-style. Super easy to make and absolutely delicious.
4.29 from 7 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 35 mins
Course Pickle
Cuisine Indian
Servings 4 cups

Ingredients
  

  • 250 gm of cubed King fish or any firm-fleshed fish
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt adjust to taste
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds uluva
  • 2-3 tsp freshly ground ginger garlic paste
  • 2-3 green chillies slit (optional)
  • 4-5 garlic cloves sliced
  • A few curry leaves
  • 2.5 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder see notes
  • 3 tbsp white vinegar
  • Salt as needed

Instructions
 

  • Wash and clean the fish pieces. I usually buy the King fish in steak pieces and cube them myself.
  • Place the fish pieces in a bowl and add the turmeric powder and red chilli powder along with some salt
  • Mix well and set aside
  • Pound or grind the ginger and garlic together. Making it fresh is key to get a really yummy fish pickle so don't skimp on this step
  • Now in the 1/2 cup oil, fry the fish until it's crispy on the outside
  • Drain and set aside
  • In the remaining oil, add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds
  • As soon as the mustard seeds start to pop, add the ginger garlic paste
  • Saute and lower the heat
  • Then add the curry leaves, green chillies, garlic pieces, and Kashmiri chilli powder. Mix well
  • Add the fried fish, mix well, and add more salt as needed
  • When the fish pieces are well mixed with the spices, add the vinegar
  • If you want more gravy in your pickle, add some water at this stage and bring to the boil
  • Remove from heat and set aside
  • Cool completely and then store in air tight glass jars in the refrigerator
  • This pickle stays fresh if refrigerated for about 2 weeks. If you want to keep it longer, freeze a portion and take out as needed

Step by Step Kerala Fish Pickle Recipe

Wash and clean the fish pieces.Place the fish pieces in a bowl and add the turmeric powder and red chilli powder along with some salt.

kerala fish pickle recipe meen acharPin

Mix well and set aside

kerala fish pickle recipe meen acharPin
Pound or grind the ginger and garlic together. Making it fresh is key to get a really yummy fish pickle so don’t skimp on this step

kerala fish pickle recipe meen acharPin
Now in the 1/2 cup oil, fry the fish until the fish is cooked yet soft. Don’t fry it until it’s crispy and fully cooked.

kerala fish pickle recipe meen acharPin
Drain and set aside

kerala fish pickle recipe meen acharPin
In the remaining oil, add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds

kerala fish pickle recipe meen acharPin
As soon as the mustard seeds start to pop, add the ginger garlic paste and green chillies (if using)

kerala fish pickle recipe meen acharPin
Saute and lower the heat. Then add the curry leaves, green chillies, and Kashmiri chilli powder. Mix well

kerala fish pickle recipe meen acharPin
Add the fried fish, mix well, and add more salt as needed

kerala fish pickle recipe meen acharPin
When the fish pieces are well mixed with the spices, add the vinegar

kerala fish pickle recipe meen acharPin
If you want more gravy in your pickle, add some water at this stage and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and set aside
Cool completely and then store in air tight glass jars in the refrigerator

kerala fish pickle recipe meen acharPin
This pickle stays fresh if refrigerated for about 2 weeks. If you want to keep it longer, freeze a portion and take out as needed.

For Kerala fish pickle recipe in Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Urdu, etc please use the Google translate button in the sidebar.

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By nags Filed Under: Kerala Recipes, Pickles and Condiments, Seafood Recipes

Previous Post: « Cabbage dal recipe, easy cabbage moong dal recipe
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Wynetta

    July 16, 2020 at 4:41 pm

    Hi. Have just found your site. All recipes seem yummy. Will be trying each one at a time and will post my comments.

    Thank you

    Reply
  2. Suku Mathew

    November 15, 2018 at 1:33 am

    Which oil we have to use
    Coconut oil or nallenna

    Reply
    • nags

      January 15, 2019 at 10:07 am

      both will work

      Reply
  3. Snair

    March 14, 2018 at 1:44 pm

    5 stars
    This is exactly the same way we make at our home …. and its real yummy … friends plz try this recipe

    Reply
    • nags

      March 26, 2018 at 5:05 pm

      thank you!

      Reply
  4. Franklin

    May 28, 2017 at 11:22 am

    5 stars
    hi/// nice instant recipe …

    i made with seer fish it was tasty… how long can this last?

    Reply
    • nags

      June 9, 2017 at 9:00 pm

      if handled well with dry spoon, etc you can keep it refrigerated for up to 2 weeks

      Reply
  5. Nutan Niegil

    January 13, 2017 at 5:45 pm

    4 stars
    Very well explained recipe 🙂 My mummy also prepares in the same way but mummy adds hing with it.Thanks a lot for sharing the recipe.

    Reply
  6. Tinu

    August 26, 2016 at 9:19 am

    5 stars
    Tried it, loved it!

    Reply
  7. Vipiin

    July 29, 2016 at 9:40 pm

    Very good

    Reply
  8. Ghai

    July 1, 2016 at 10:04 pm

    1 star
    Really interesting and will definitely give a try…

    Reply
  9. laks

    June 20, 2016 at 12:40 am

    5 stars
    Hi nags, my search for the kerela style fish pickle ends here. Thanks for the secret recipe. By the way is there any specific oil to be used or any oil will do.

    Reply
    • nags

      June 20, 2016 at 10:51 am

      thank you laks 🙂 you can use any cooking oil. i typically use rice bran oil for cooking and used the same here. coconut oil will give it a strong flavour, you can go that route too.

      Reply
  10. Biny Anoop

    June 16, 2016 at 1:24 am

    5 stars
    I used to make these with Tuna…we dont get King fish here…It finish so fast that…

    Reply

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Hello!

I am Nags, the face behind Edible Garden, a food and recipes website for the busy (and sometimes lazy!) cook since 2007. My recipes are meant to be quick yet healthy and delicious - Nothing fancy, nothing too difficult. Follow Me On Instagram for real-time food and life updates.

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