Asia is known for its rich and varied culture, style and, most of all, the cuisine. With every country you pass, you tend to savour a different, yet distinct taste in the food put before you. Since fish is one of the delicacies prepared in various styles, and with vegetables, the Asian style fish curryis one of the major attractions for the visitors.
Here is a simple, yet quite out of the world fish curry, prepared with coconut milk, Okra or Lady’s finger and tomatoes.
Coconut is one of the regular features in Asian style cooking, especially in countries like India, Thailand and Malaysia. It lends the natural thickness and a beautiful flavour to any dish it is added into.
This recipe, for a fish curry, is of Malaysian origin and uses the natural and subtle taste of coconut milk to bring out the flavours in the fish. The fish curries in countries like Malaysia and Thailand is rich in coconut and vegetables. The below-mentioned recipe too, captures the essence of Asian cooking, with its curious blend of spices and ingredients.
Preparation time- one hour
Servings- 4
Difficulty level – Medium
Mackerel or Salmon – 4
Coconut milk – 1.5 cups
Oil – 3 tsp (Any oil of your preference)
Curry leaves – 4-5
Tamarind water – ½ cup
(To prepare tamarind water, soak a small quantity of tamarind in warm water and keep aside. After a little while, squeeze out the tamarind out of the water. The juice left behind, is the tamarind water.)
Fish Curry paste (A special fish curry paste available in the market )
Vegetables:
Okra – 5-6, cut into minute halves
Tomatoes – 2-3, cut into small wedges
Eggplant – 4-5 – cut into wedges
Onion – 2, sliced
Red and green chillies – according to taste
Salt
Coriander leaves to garnish
Preparation:
The dish is to be baked once the initial preparation is done with. Hence, preheat the oven to 240oC.
Wash the fish and cut into larger chunks or according to your taste. Sprinkle salt and keep aside for it to marinate.
On the stove top, keep a flat bottomed pan on a low flame, and add the necessary quantities of oil. (With the low flame and constant stirring, one can prepare the dish with lesser oil too.)
Add onions and sauté for a minute, till it turns brown. A pinch of sugar can lend it the beautiful brown, caramelised look that can go well with the dish.
In the low flame, add curry leaves, and the curry paste. Stir constantly for a minute.
Add the cut vegetables – Okra, eggplant and tomatoes. Fry for a minute and stir in the coconut milk.
Once you add coconut milk, constantly stir to let it blend into the curry paste and all other ingredients.
Add green chillies and tamarind water, and cook on a low flame, with constant stirring, for a few minutes till the vegetables are nicely cooked and the gravy thickens.
Add salt, if necessary. However, remember that the fish already has some salt sprinkled on it. The sauce should take about 10-15 minutes to thicken. Since it contains coconut milk and tamarind, a constant stirring can keep the mixture from getting curdled or burnt at the bottom.
Take the pan out of the flame.
Place the cut fish on a baking tin, and gently pour the prepared gravy on the top of the fish.
Slide the baking tray in the oven, and bake the fish, well covered with foil, for 30-35 minutes.
The foil will keep the rich aroma intact and let the fish soak in all that wonderful flavours of coconut milk and tamarind.
Garnish it simply, according to your taste, with cilantro or sliced onions, and serve hot with rice.
The whole dish takes less than 60 minutes to prepare and is lighter in taste and flavour. Since coconut is creamy in texture, the gravy is thick and utterly delicious.
As for the nutritional facts, the gravy is a good blend of protein, carbohydrates and fat. With the vegetables thrown in, it forms a complete and a yummy meal for your family.
Mackerel is the most favoured fish for this gravy preparation, although you can try the salmon or Pomfret too if you do not have Mackerel in hand. The curry paste consists of Asian spices, mostly the Thai or Malaysian ones, and lends the complete taste to the gravy. You can get them in any Asian market or store nearby.
