Kappa and Fish Curry

Overview
Kappa and fish curry is a very popular and traditional food of Kerala. Kappa and Fish Curry is kind of like the meat and potatoes here in U.S. Kappa (Yucca) is cooked and mashed and is eaten with red fish curry. This unique combination is an acquired taste of all Keralites.

Ingredients for Mashed Kappa
Fresh Yucca root or frozen - 2 pounds cleaned and cut into chunks
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Garlic - 4 cloves
Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon
Green chilly - 4 - 6
Fresh grated coconut - 1 cup
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves 2 sprigs
Red whole chilly broken into pieces - 4
Salt to taste
Oil - 3 tablespoons

Steps for Kappa
1. Boil water in large vessel. Add the cleaned chopped Kappa chunks to it. Let it boil for about 5 - 10 minutes till the Kappa is almost cooked. Drain out the water and keep aside.

2. Coarsely grind the coconut with garlic, cumin seeds, turmeric and green chillies.

3. Add the ground coconut paste to the tapioca along with 1 cup water and mix well and bring to boil. Cook till the Kappa is cooked well. Turn off  heat and mash the Kappa with the spoon.

4. Heat the oil in a pan to garnish the Kappa. When the oil is hot add the mustard seeds when the mustard seeds splutter add the red chilly pieces and Curry leaves to the oil. Turn off the heat and add this to the prepared kappa.

Ingredients for Red Fish Curry
Salmon fillet 2 pounds
Red Onions - 1/2 thin sliced
Ginger 2 inch - thin sliced
Green chilly - 6  - 8 cut length wise
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon
Red Chilly powder - 3 tablespoon
Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 teaspoons
Kerala Tamarind(Kodampulli ) 4  thin slices
Oil - 4 tablespoons
Salt to taste

Steps for Fish curry
1. Clean and cut the fish to pieces and keep aside.

2. Heat oil in a pan. when the oil is hot add the mustard seeds. When it splutters add the fenugreek seeds and saute well. Add the sliced onions, ginger, green chilly and curry leaves to this and saute few minutes. When the onions are soft add the chilly powder and turmeric and saute well.

3. Add the Kerala tamarind, water( about a cup) and salt to this and mix well. Bring this to a boil and then add the fish pieces gently to this. Bring it back to  boil and then simmer and cook till the fish is cooked about 10 - 15 minutes.

Serve hot with mashed Kappa.