ANN/THE STAR – For the longest time, it was difficult for me to completely enjoy making fish curry. The results were always off for one reason or another – not tangy enough, too watery, too thick, and so on.
I would avoid cooking fish curry as often as I could, but after the many failed attempts through the years I believe I have it figured out.
This is one curry that truly tests your sense of sight, taste and smell. Do it right and it will rival your favourite Indian eatery meen curry, with the added pleasure of knowing that you have full control of the ingredients.
My mother-in-law taught me how to make the version I serve today, and her fish curry was always on point.
Interestingly, she showed me that I don’t have to always sauté the spices, so here’s a recipe that doesn’t use any oil. In return, I showed her how to make the curry even better with prawn stock in place of water, like how my mother taught me.
The next time you buy fresh prawns, save the head and shell (store it in your freezer and once you have enough, turn it into stock).
To make the stock, be sure to give the prawn shells and heads a quick rinse, put them into a pot of water (you can also throw in some onions, celery, carrot and pepper, but I don’t bother) and once it comes to the first boil, lower the heat and continue boiling gently until the water is half of what you started with. Strain it – that’s your “liquid gold”.
Once it’s cooled down, portion it into a few containers and freeze it. I use it for lots of seafood dishes that call for gravy as well as for prawn or fish briyani.
I also make my fish curry without coconut milk, so expect a stronger taste. This version also allows it to sit in the fridge longer without going bad.
This is a wonderful accompaniment to rice, fish cutlets, fried fish, squid or prawns. It will taste even better over the next few days with bread or roti canai.
INGREDIENTS
– Two to four slices of firm fish (mackerel or red snapper)
– Three heaped tablespoons of fish curry power (any brand)
– Two heaped tablespoons of chilli powder
– One medium-sized onion, chopped
– Half-thumb-sized fresh ginger, chopped
– Six cloves garlic, chopped
– One ping-pong ball-size tamarind (asam jawa) – soak in half-cup hot water, mix well and extract the tamarind juice. Do this twice with the same batch of tamarind to fully extract the juice
– One tomato (smash to a pulp with hand)
– Four cups water or prawn stock
– Five to six ladies fingers, cut into two to three parts each
– Salt and sugar to taste
METHOD
Use a pot that is big enough to lay the fish in a single layer and leave space for the curry to boil. A medium-deep pot, claypot or a Chinese ceramic soup pot works just as well.
Mix the powdered spices, onions, ginger and garlic in the pot with some water to create a thick paste. Let it sit for about half an hour.
Add the tamarind juice, tomato pulp and prawn stock to the pot. Put the pot on the stove over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Don’t cover it.
Since we skipped sautéing, leave the curry to gently boil. This lets the ingredients and flavours blend nicely while eliminating any raw taste from the spices. Give it a stir from time to time to prevent the bottom from burning.
Add salt and sugar for taste. Remember, the sugar is used merely to enhance the salt and not overtake the taste. Allow the curry to boil until it starts to reduce and thicken.
Add the cleaned fish into the pot. Handle the fish delicately as it cooks swiftly and breaks easily. Toss in the okra and let them cook briefly.
Taste to make sure the flavours are just right, then turn off the heat and cover the pot. Let it sit for half an hour to let the flavours meld together before serving. – Janitha Sukumaran
