Kerala fish curry — specifically the style using raw mango or Kudampuli (Gamboge, a dried fruit providing an intensely sour, slightly fruity note) in coconut milk — represents the foundational South Indian fish preparation. Its flavour architecture is the opposite of North Indian fish curry: no tomato, no garam masala, no cream — instead, coconut milk, curry leaves, green chilli, and a souring agent specific to the region.
- **Kudampuli (Malabar tamarind / Gamboge):** Dried pieces of Garcinia cambogia — intensely sour with a specific fruity-resinous character unavailable from any other ingredient. Soaked in warm water before use. [VERIFY] Bharadwaj's kudampuli specification. - **Coconut milk:** The thin second-press coconut milk as the cooking liquid; the thick first-press cream added at the end off heat. - **The fish:** Oily fish (sardine, mackerel, kingfish) tolerate the long coconut milk cooking; delicate white fish are added last and cooked briefly. - **Curry leaves:** The essential South Indian aromatic — bloomed in coconut oil with mustard seeds as the beginning of the preparation. - **No browning:** Kerala fish curry uses no onion browning, no Maillard base — the flavour comes entirely from the souring agent, the coconut milk, and the tarka aromatics.
Indian Cookery Course