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 History Kerala fish curry is a staple diet of the people in Kerala; A southern state in India. Fish curry is a blend of flavours distilled from Chinese and Portuguese origin, these unique flavours were brought together by traders and migrants from these countries in the late 18th century. Curry, as it is known in the west, is taken from a South Indian word //Khari//. Khari is a dish which accentuates and brings together the rich flavours of authentic spices, such as; coriander, turmeric, cumin, fenugreek and red pepper and accumulates those dense flavours into the meat and corresponding gravy.

The cultural mix of locals and tradesmen that arrived from Portugal resulted in the origin and making of traditional Kerala fish curry. Locals from Kerala and tradesmen both relished fish heads, Keralites treated fish heads as a speciality in their dynamic culture, and so the __relationship__ between the locals and tradesmen grew stronger and deeper, along with the ripening and enriching flavours of the fish curry. Fish curry quickly became a predominant part of the Keralite culture and history and was modified to __fit__ the Keralian culture, for example; use of spices, ginger and local white fish from the coastline of Kerala. Fish, Rice and or Tapioca (Kappa) is a staple diet in Kerala. Nayanar, K. (__2012__). One of the key reasons why fish curry was adopted into the diet of many working class Keralians was because it could endure outside temperatures for up to three or four days (without having to be refrigerated) and it could be re-heated a couple of times without going //off;//thus it was a malleable and easily adaptable meal for working class families. T. Kunjumon (personal communication, April 25, __2012__)

About Kerala fish curry: Kerala fish curry consists of White fish semi stewed in a Kerala-style curry with onions and okra, amble amount of spices and garlic. The main type of fish that is used in fish curry in Kerala is that of white fish, examples of white round fish include cod, haddock, sea bass, pollack, coley, hake and rohu. Sometimes cheap fishes such as Sardines and Mackerels are also used, especially among the lower income population as white round fish can be very expensive. The secret to the taste of Kerala fish curry lies on how it is prepared and what it is prepared with. The factor that uplifts the taste of any fish curry is the Earthenware/__Clay__-pot commonly known as Manchatti/Chatti. Every Kerala house have at-least one of this __clay__-pot which brings the taste of Fish curry to perfection. It helps preserve the fish curry with its full essence and fish curry cooked in __clay__ pot last much longer compared to steel and aluminium containers. J. Jeby (personal communication, April 26, 2012)

Tapioca (Kappa) is always incomplete without fish curry, which is very spicy, consumed at breakfast (traditionally), lunch and dinner (__new__ generation). Kerala is hevily affected by the monsoon rains and can get really cold during winter. Having spicy fish curry along with kappa best suits people, help them generate body heat. Fish curry traditionally is very prominent dish among rituals and get together and most sought out for a Christian Marriage in Kerala. It is very prestigious to have Kerala style fish curry at the event, this custom have been followed over many generations and is still followed __now__ in Kerala.

Modern context

The consumption of Fish curry has declined over the past 2 decades as the amount of marine life in the coastline around Kerala has declined due to improved fishing techniques, amplified fishing to meet the population demand and mass production of fish curry in cans for export to foreign countries. S. Mathew (personal communication, April 23, 2012) In the past, fish curry was consumed by all the people of Kerala, the rich and poor same as fish was in abundance and the local fish market had fishes to serve everyone’s needs. As the use of new fishing techniques, and mass fishing along the coast of Kerala meant that there was major decline in the different types of fishes available. At the same time the demand for fish curry only increased as 20th century industries in Kerala such as tourism required more and more consumption of fish curry. This high demand for the cultural culinary of kerala leads to prices of local fishes to go up. As the prices of fishes rose more and more, people who are in the poorer areas could not afford fish. Fish curry which is made of rohu (type of fish in Kerala) is mainly sold in 5 star hotels, tourism house boats for the foreigners to enjoy and the locals have moved on to using other affordable fishes as fish curry is a staple diet in every Keralians life. T Kunjumon (personal communication, April 25, 2012) 

It was also very interesting to note that there was a change in which course fish was consumed in Kerala, as fish curry in history was consumed at breakfast along with cassava. As both cassava and fish curry gave the labour workers enough energy to work hard in the sun till lunch. It was vital course of meal for every worker. What was interesting to note that this changed dramatically as fish curry was preferred by the people for lunch with rice or at dinner with cassava. This was because of change in the economy in the state of Kerala as there was no need for such a big energy filled breakfast, as there was a huge decline in labour workers and an increase in white collar jobs, as literacy rate of Kerala went from 55% to 91% by start of 2002. Census of India (2012).

 Migration

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">According to the study, the number of Kerala migrants living abroad in 2011 was estimated at 2.28 million. CCGI(2001) Population of Kerala has always been very attracted to migration; this has lead to an increase in export of fish curry towards these migrants in frozen packets and gravy packages. The main problem with this was that the nutritional value is lost during the transport of frozen fish and the large quantities were needed to meet the need of migr <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">ants.Vijayan (2001). This was seen very profitable to the business in Kerala, and mass production of fish curry has been the new “trend”, where heat and eat packets, and frozen packets was available in the local markets. Mass production, long lasting fish curries in easy heat and eat packets meant that great deal of domestic work has already done on fish before it enters the kitchen, as cooking is seen as a “burden” and long process for the newer generation in Kerala.(Carole 1997). This was seen to be very beneficial to a busy middle class community, as less time and labour was needed to prepare the fish curry in traditional method.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Impact of this food on your population’s diet:

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Kerala fish curry is very beneficial for the population of Kerala as fish mostly have very little fat in them and fish have almost nil saturated fat. So although the cholesterol in fish is not much better than what you would find in meat, the lack of saturated fat means that the body has nothing to turn to cholesterol. White fish (mainly used in fish curry) has a calories of 400, high in vitamin B6, selenium and magnesium. These nutrients are very beneficial for the human body. Using fresh fish for preparing fish curry by the locals improves the nutritional value of the food and prevents contamination caused by preserving and packaging. Donald (2012) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Fish preparation and the spices used have its own health benefits of the pupation of Kerala. As fish curry is mad of Garlic, Coriander, Turmeric, Cumin, Fenugreek and Red Pepper. The use of Garlic in fish curry for example is very beneficial as consumption of garlic can stimulate the immune response which can be beneficial in disease management and it has been proven to be effective against bacteria which cause pneumonia. (Prabhudesai 2012) Along with the positive nutritional value of fish in fish curry, the extra spices and mixes used to prepare has many positive health gains for Keralites.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 19px;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 19px;">Changes in consumption: <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 19px;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In the study done by Kerala marine reserves in 2010 showed that there was decreased number of (fish) along the coastline of Kerala. Increased modern consumption due to tourism and import has seen the reduction of numbers of fish in Kerala. This increased modern consumption is also due to modernisation of tradition fish curry to suit different cultural backgrounds (tourists), for example use of coconut milk in fish curry has seen the increased consumption if fish curry not only in Kerala but among other states of India. Cooking in Kerala is seen as a sacred ritual many of the population, especially among the women. T. Kunjumon (personal communication, April 25, 2012) Modernisation of cooking methods and cultural practices in <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">how the fish is prepared increases the chance of lost of culture among the population of Kerala, as studies have shown that more and more young women in Kerala recognises cooking and preparing food the traditional way a burden and waste of time. Soutik<span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, B. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> (2010)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Due to media and social websites, the modern consumption of fish curry has turn unhealthy. Now a days in the local toddy shops (alcoholic beverage made from palm trees) fish curry is seen as the best combination with the alcohol. Without fish curry local toddy shops won’t sell alcohol. This kind of modern consumption patterns especially among the young population of Kerala is a show of “manly hood”, as Kerala have the heaviest drinkers in India. Soutik <span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, B. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> (2010) Consumed with alcohol the Kerala fish curry loses its cultural importance and prestige as it is consumed in high amounts (normally 5-6) per person. This again puts pressure on resources of fish along the coastline and using a culturally important staple food to more fashionable and harmful use not only promotes loss of heritage but is very harmful to health.

References


 * Kerala Travel Centre (2012). Culinary Tour 13 Nights 14 Days. Retrieved April 26, 2012, from []


 * Bijoy,D.(photographer). (2010). Kallushaps and Specialties, Retrieved April 23,2012, from []


 * J. Jeby (personal communication, April 26, 2012)


 * T. Kunjumon (personal communication, April 25, 2012)


 * S. Mathew (personal communication, April 23, 2012)


 * Donald, U. (2012). Fish Cholesterol, Retrieved April 23, 2012, from []


 * Carole, C., Penny, V., Esteri. (1997) Food and Culture: A Reader. Impact of fish curry on population’s diet. Retrieved April 26,2012,from [|http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=1mBufGGKif8C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false]


 * Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner Government of India, CCGI(2001) [|Census of India 2001:List of Towns]. Retrieved pp. 1–4. 2006-01-12


 * Soutik, B. (2010). BBC News., Kerala's love affair with alcohol. Retrieved on 28th April from []


 * Census of India (2012). Education. Retrieved 26th April from []


 * Vijayan (2001). Traditional Kerala style fish curry in indigenous retort pouch, food Control, Volume 12, Issue 8, December 2001, Pages 523-527


 * Prabhudesai,G (2012) Benefits of Indian Food., Retrieved on 24th April 2012, from []


 * Nayanar, K. (2012)Kerala’s culinary history Retrieved on 22nd April 2012 from []


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 * The combination of Kappa (Tapioca/cassava) & Fish curry: 2012 Retrieved on 27 April 2012 from [|http://www.google.co.nz/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nalamidam.com/wp-][|content/uploads/2012/03/kappa41.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nalamidam.com/archives/11499&h=369&w=500&sz=43&tbnid=9iL0L9YGL9L62M:&tbnh=92&tbnw=124&zoom=1&docid=2fqfq9W4TGHeiM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4NawT--xJ8vqmAWa4IDACQ&ved=0CFUQ9QEwBQ&dur=982]


 * Packages Kerala Fish curry ingredients mix for export and local consumption:2012. Retrieved 25th April 2012 from []


 * .Frozen Ready to eat packets of Kerala fish curry, used both locally and in the overseas market 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2012 from []


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 * Traditionally cooking Fish curry enjoyed and done by the women 2010. Retrieved on 02 May 2012 from http://www.keralatourism.org


 * Changes in consumption of Fish curry. Served with local alcohol (todi) 2009. Retrieved 03 May 2012 from []