Sri-Lankan Fish Curry with Coconut Milk

- Serves 4

I tried Sri-lankan food for the first time in Hong Kong back in the 90’s. In the basement of an old building on Hollywood road, lay a small family-owned restaurant that did mostly take-away lunch boxes. A colleague and good friend of mine headed there for lunch most days of the week. I have been a big fan of the country, its warm and wonderful people and their food since.

This spicy, sour and deeply aromatic fish curry is a breakfast staple all over Sri-Lanka. Although often served with steamed rice, my favorite way to enjoy this beautiful dish is with crispy rice hoppers. The sweet, fluffy interior of a rice hopper is the best way to lap up all the deliciously spicy sauce; even better if you can make some coconut Sambol to go with it.

Ingredients for Sri-Lankan Fish Curry with Coconut Milk

500g mackerel or any white fish (like Snapper, Grouper, Thread-fin, Sea-bass etc.) - cleaned and cut into 1-2 inch fillets
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
25g tamarind
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1-inch cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
8-10 black peppercorns
20-30 curry leaves
5 cloves garlic, sliced
2 green or red chili padi, slit lengthways
100g onion, sliced
200g Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoons chili powder, or to taste
1 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups water
100ml coconut cream
small bunch chopped coriander, for garnish

Recipe

Place fish in a bowl and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, turmeric and chili powder. Set aside.
Soak tamarind in half a cup of hot water for about 30 minutes. With clean hands, massage tamarind with your fingers and drain the pulp into a bowl for later use. Discard fiber and seeds.
(You can also use a thick sieve placed in a bowl to extract tamarind pulp. Strain tamarind and water through the sieve, mashing it constantly in the sieve using the back of a spoon until all the pulp is out of the fruit. Discard leftover seeds and fruit in the sieve)
On medium flame, heat oil in a large wok. Add cinnamon, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds, peppercorns and curry leaves. Let seeds splutter.
Next add garlic, slit chilies and sliced onions - sauté for a few minutes until onions are translucent.
Add chopped tomatoes followed by turmeric, chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, and salt - stir well and sauté for about 5 minutes for spices to release their oils.
Add remaining 2.5 cups of water followed by tamarind pulp. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to low-medium, and continue cooking the sauce for another 8 minutes stirring occasionally.
Slide in fish pieces, cover, and cook for about 8 minutes until fish cooks through.
Add coconut cream, mix gently by swirling around the sauce holding the handles of the wok. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with steamed rice.