Karimeen Pollichathu is one of Kerala’s
traditional delicacies. Karimeen or Pearl spot fish is found very common in
Kerala backwaters. All through Kerala, you will get this dish but with varying
flavour.. The taste and preparation changes slightly as we go from one end of
Kerala to the other! This is traditionally a Syrian Christian delicacy but soon
became part of Kerala’s rich cuisine. Your Kerala holidays will never be
complete without enjoying this… Karimeen is cooked in various ways with varying
flavours to attract the tourist and promote their culinary arts. Karimeen fry
is a delicacy in most of the houseboats and is prized high for its flavours, taste and
nutritive values. These varieties of fishes have the special ability to live
equally in both pure and saline waters. They are mainly found in rivers, ponds,
farm fields, canals and estuaries. Karnataka and Orissa are the other major
states where karimeen is found in India. The Kuttanad region in Alappuzha
district is considered the home of this fish species.
Karimeen
have an elliptical black body with shiny white diamond like spots all over the
body. It is this physical appearance which gave fish the name ‘pearl spot’ or ‘Karimeen’. Even though the word ‘kari’
point to a dark black colour the fish has a mixed combination of green and
black on its body. Dark black strips (usually 8 in number) are found from head
to tail. A fully grown Karimeen have about 40 cm length and about one and half
kilograms of weight.
Karimeen
fry is one of the authentic dishes of Kerala.
It more or else looks like a grilled fish in spicy and tangy gravy. This
dish is a very popular dish among the
tourists in Kerala especially in Alleppey regions. Karimeen is also cooked
wrapped in banana leaf with spices and grilled. This is popularly known as
Karimeen pollichathu. Pollichathu means
burnt fish. Karimeen which is also known as Pearl Spot fish or Green chromide
is a freshwater fish found in southern India, especially in back waters of
Kerala. It’s a species of Chick family and Etroplus genus. This fish is
locally known as Karimeen in Malayalam. Karimeen was officially announced as
the state fish of Kerala in the year
2010. It is the most influential fish in the lifestyle of Kerala. Karimeen has
the power to tingle our taste buds and you would surely crave for more. A boat ride in the backwaters while
relishing the Karimeen fry or Karimeen pollichadhu is an integral part of an
average tourist’s Kerala experience. It is too hot a delicacy and one of the
most expensive fish in Kerala.Karimeen is cooked in various styles like fried,
cooked in spicy and tangy coconut gravy or slowly grilled in charcoal with
spices. Pearl spot is extremely a tasty fish hence very pricy as well and
sometimes beyond the reach of ordinary people. The signature dish of Kerala
could well be the delicacy, ‘Karimeen Pollichathu”, fish sauteed with masala and cooked over low fire
in coconut milk, wrapped in plantain leaves. This seems to be the most famous
dish among the tourists who visits
Kerala especially if you go to regions like Alleppey. This fish delicacy is
among the fabulous food served in houseboats as you take a ride enjoying the beauty of Kerala backwaters.
Different regions have different versions. The popular dishes made using
Karmeen are “Karimeen fry”, “Karimeen Pollichathu” and ” Karimeen Mappas” and
the toddy shops and house boats are famous for serving these dishes.
Thank god, we have lekhafoods.com,
one of the top 10 best cooking websites on the Internet. You may refer complete
details of all varieties of Indian and World’s best recipes of both vegetarian
and non vegetarian dishes such as cake recipes and chicken recipes for dinner.
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