#ewew cooks Indian-Style Fish Curry

If I want to eat an Indian-style fish curry, my best bet would be to go to a mamak or nasi kandar restaurant....and order it!

I can't imagine cooking this Indian-Style Fish Curry as I know next to nothing about making curries....until I discovered Kampong Kravers ready-made curry pastes in various flavours like chicken, beef, mutton, squid, shrimp, fish, dhal and sambal...and the latest "hot bilis" is selling very well apparently.

 

So, when I was buying some curry puffs the other day, I took a chance and bought one of their ready-to-cook curry pastes.  Please note that these are not your typical Malay or Chinese-style curries but more of an Indian Nasi Kandar-style curry.  For me, when it comes to Indian-style curries, I like only two types...fish and dhal (for Malay-style curries, I like it done with chicken, beef or squid and for Chinese-style curries, I like chicken with potatoes or prawns with pineapple).

 

Eliminating dhal (which I usually eat with roti canai only), I went ahead and bought the Malaysian Fish Curry Paste (Kari Ikan Nasi Kandar Malaysia) @ RM12.90 (RM13.70 inclusive of GST) for a 250g pack.

 

First, prep your vegetables of brinjal (1/2 a medium-sized one), okra (about 7 pcs cut into half), cabbage (1/4 and cut into smaller pieces), tomatoes (about 8 cherry tomatoes which I find are sweeter, leave whole) and tau fu pok (about 6 pcs cut into half).

 

You can use any type of fish you want, I used "kau yue" (otherwise known as ikan tenggiri or Spanish mackerel).  [#Tip: Although it's known locally as ikan tenggiri, the "kau yue" (don't know if there's another name for it) that I buy is quite different from those sold at mamak and Chinese mixed rice stalls which I find to be utterly dry and hard.  This (typically more expensive) "kau yue", on the other hand, is not as dry.]

 

I fried one of them just so that I have one fried and one non-fried in the curry to see which one tastes better.

 

Empty the sachet of curry paste into a pan.  Do not be unduly worried about the oil coz, after everything is cooked, the oil is hardly noticeable.  The instructions on the packet say to add in 250ml hot water...I just added water since we're going to bring the curry to a boil anyway.

 

Then, I threw in the brinjal and okra since they take the longest time to soften.  Cook that for about 10 minutes.

 

Next, add in the cabbage and tomatoes and cook for a further 5 minutes.  At this point, I realised that the water was not enough and added another 200ml (coz I threw in a lot of vegetables).  [#Tip: If you want a more concentrated flavour, don't be so greedy and throw in so much vegetables.]

 

Then, add the fried and fresh fish and the tau fu pok and let it cook for a further 3 minutes.  [#Tip: I think I'll omit the tau fu pok next time as it didn't quite seem like an Indian curry with it.]  Season with salt and sugar to your personal taste (or as per packet instructions).

 

Finally, add in 50ml santan (coconut milk) as suggested (but I added in 100ml coz I like it creamy) and let it simmer for the final 2 minutes.  [#Tip: If you can, use freshly squeezed santan (rather than those from a box/can) as it's a lot more fragrant (nowadays it's so convenient, you can buy them already squeezed).]  It should take more or less 20 - 25 minutes from start to finish (excluding the frying of the fish, of course) depending on how soft you like your vegetables.

 

Here's my 'cheat' Indian-Style Fish Curry that's ready to serve (which is sufficient for 2 - 3 pax...not everything is on the plate).  [#Note: The packet instructions say "serves 4 - 6 persons"...no way (not with 250ml water), maybe 4 persons (with double the amount of water).]

I must say the curry tasted a lot like those from the mamak restaurants....in fact, it was even better than some I had at those restaurants.  You can taste the freshly blended spices and chillies, there were even curry leaves in the paste.

This is the fried fish version with plain rice served 'tiffin style'....actually I'm gonna save this for later!

And this is the fresh fish version with plain rice (which I'm going to attack now)...it's certainly good enough for so little effort.  Now, if only I had some "papadums".....;p

I certainly didn't think I would ever be making a fish curry that looked even remotely authentic ;)  Of course it's never going to be as good as the real ones (those pastes pounded from scratch) but, for people who don't know how to make from scratch, these ready-made pastes are a godsent!

So, the next time you "krave" for some fish curry, nasi kandar style, go to Kampong Kravers and get a pack coz it's so easy to replicate it at home....straight from a box!

 

P/S:  Both fish versions were good although I'm leaning more towards the fried fish version (which need a little bit more work) but if you're not up for it, then go with the fresh fish version.