Nellore Chepala Pulusu Recipe

Nellore Chepala Pulusu is a popular Andhra recipe made with onions, tomatoes, pulusu masala, fish which is cooked in a fiery tamarind sauce. The word 'chepala' means 'fish' and 'pulusu' means 'tamarind based gravy'. This is my go-to fish curry whenever I feel like having something spicy. This Fish pulusu is spicy and tangy red fish curry which goes well with steamed rice or ragi mudde.

Chepala Pulusu

I have been looking for a spicy, tangy, red fish curry recipe with no coconut. Finally I got one, this is Andhra recipe. It uses lots of tamarind and lots of chillies. This fiery fish curry is perfect with hot rice. 

About Chepala Pulusu

Fish curry can be made many different ways and this is one of the most popular version. This Nellore | Andhra style fish curry is also known as fish pulusu, chepala pulusu, meen pulusu. The word 'chepala' means 'fish' and 'pulusu' means 'tamarind based gravy'. The dish is made with onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, spice powders and fish which is simmered in a tangy tamarind sauce.

Fish pulusu requires firm white-fleshed fresh water fish which is marinated with basic spices. Fry the marinated fish in a good amount of oil. The pulusu gravy is made by grinding sauted onions, tomatoes, ginger and garlic. Whole spices like cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, fenugreek seeds is tempered in oil and cooked with onion tomato paste. Add in Tamarind extract along with fried fish and finish the gravy with a final addition of freshly made pulusi podi.

Nellore chepala pulusu is best served with ragi mudde, chapati, rice which makes a perfect addition to Andhra meals. Hungry for more Andhra recipes.

Similar Recipes,

• Goan Fish Curry
• Fish Curry
• Malabar Fish Curry

Watch Fish Pulusu Video

Chepala Pulusu Ingredients

Onions - Sliced onions is sauted and ground for this curry. You can use peeled shallots in this curry for more taste. Some days I add peeled shallots in the curry whole for sweet flavour.

Tomatoes - I don't add too much tomato in fish pulusu, because the tangy taste should come from tamarind.

Ginger & Garlic - I prefer using fresh ginger and garlic. You can use ginger garlic paste as well.

Fish - use any firm white fleshed fish like tilapia, seer fish, king fish. Make sure you clean it well in water two to three times to remove the fishy smell. I like to apply lemon juice over the fish and let it marinate for 5 mins then rinse well.

Tempering Spices - Traditionally fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds are the important tempering spices, but you can add cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaf for more flavour.

Spice Powders - basic spice powders like chilli powder, coriander and turmeric powder. You can use kashmiri chilli powder for colour. Pulusu podi is added in the end for flavour.

How to Make Pulusu Podi (Ingredients)

Pulusu is a tamarind based curry which is made in around Nellore region. The gravy usually has thin consistency so a traditional spice blend called as pulusu powder or podi is used to thicken the curry. There are so many recipes for pulusu podi around the internet. Each household has their own version of pulusu spice blend.

Traditionally pulusu powder has a combination of spices like dry chillies, coriander seeds, cumin, pepper, cinnamon, fenugreek seeds, dry coconut, poppy seeds, chana dal and curry leaves.

Ingredients are collected together is roasted in a dry pan till aromatic and toasted, then powdered. You can store this in fridge and use when making tamarind based curries or stew. The version which I used in this recipe is simple one which goes well with fish curries. Meanwhile check my egg pulusu and Gutti Vankaya Pulusu Kura.

How to Make Chepala Pulusu (Stepwise Pictures)

Making Pulusu podi

1)Start by making pulusu podi. Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, whole black pepper, dry red chillies and fenugreek seeds. Roast this in a dry pan with no oil and also make sure the heat is very low.

2)Once the spices are well toasted, it will be aromatic. Add in dry coconut | desiccated coconut or kopra. Roast coconut with the spices till golden brown in colour.

3)Let the roasted spices and coconut cool completely, take this mix in a blender and powder till fine. Once powdered, set aside till needed.

Marinating & Frying Fish

4)Take any firm fleshed cleaned fish in a bowl. Add in turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt. Mix well and leave to marinate for 10 minutes if needed. But I used it immediately.

5)Heat gingelly oil in a kadai. You need quite a bit of oil. I use this same oil for making the fish pulusu. Drop fish in and fry for 1 to 2 minutes till lightly seared. Remove using a slotted spoon and set aside.

6)Remove the fried fish in a bowl, don't need to fry the fish till crispy. Just to sear the flavours is enough.

Sauteing & Grinding Onion & Tomato

7)Now remove most of the oil from the kadai, keep 3 tbsp of oil in the pan for sauteing onions. Once the oil is hot, add in sliced onions, peeled whole garlic cloves.

8)Add in peeled sliced ginger. Saute this for 1 to 2 minutes till lightly golden. Instead of ginger and garlic you can use 2 tbsp of ginger garlic paste.

9)Add in tomatoes and saute for 2 more minutes till the tomatoes soften a little. Switch off the flame and let it cool down a bit before grinding.

10)Take the onion and tomato mix in the blender and grind into a smooth puree. Don't add water when grinding.

Tempering Spices

11)Now in the same pan, add the leftover fried oil. Add in the tempering whole spices one by one. Add in cinnamon, bay leaf and cardamom pods.

12)Add in fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, dry red chillies (broken into small pieces) and a handful of curry leaves in the same oil. Saute the whole spices for 1 minute.

Cooking Fish Pulusu Gravy

13)Once the whole spices is tempered. Add in the onion tomato masala which we ground into the oil. You can add some water to the blender and to remove all the onion paste from the blender jar. Don't use too much water, use less than ¼ cup.

14)Add in green chillies which is slit in half. Saute the onion and tomatoes for 4 to 5minutes till oil separates from the mixture.

15)Add in spice powders. I am using chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder. Stir fry the spices with the onion masala for 2 minutes till the raw smell leaves.

16)Add in tamarind extract and water. Adjust the consistency accordingly. I used a total of 1 litre of liquid.

17)Now mix everything together. Taste the sauce and adjust tamarind and salt to your liking. Now bring this to a full boil, cover and cook for 5 to 10 minutes till a layer of oil floats on top.

Finishing Chepala Pulusu

18)Add in the fried fish back into the gravy and cook covered on low medium heat for 5 more minutes until the fish is cooked completely and a layer of oil floats on top.

19)This is how you know your fish pulusu is ready. Once oil floats on top, then every spices and masala added in the curry is cooked completely.

20)Finally add in the pulusu podi and stir well. Cook again on low heat for 5 more minutes.

21)Finally garnish with coriander leaves and mix. Serve with white steamed rice or ragi mudde.

This is the same fish pulusu which I made another day. This time I used kashmiri chilli powder which gave me a rich red colour to the fish pulusu. I also cooked this in clay pot.

Expert Tips

Choosing Fish - use white fleshed fish for more taste. Usually fish with bones still intact adds flavour to the curry. But if you prefer boneless you can use them too.

Spice powders - I used kashmiri chilli powder in this recipe, it gave me a rich colour with medium spiciness. But if you want it to be super spicy, you can use half kashmiri and half regular chilli powder.

Which Oil to use - Use gingelly oil for best taste. Don't reduce the oil in this, you need that to balance all the spiciness. Also this gravy takes quite a bit of salt. So taste and adjust the seasoning.

Tamarind & Salt - This curry has to be tangy and spicy, so adjust both as per your taste and requirement. 

Let it marinate - Allow the curry to sit for a couple of hours before eating so the flavors meld together, this curry taste even better the next day when reheated.

More Fish Recipes to try

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