There were seven of us and six of them: two couples and nine kids. Dinner was at our place. Some of the kids played 18 holes that day, some spent the day at the Magic Kingdom. We definitely needed a lot of sustenance for refueling!


I can't remember what I made that night, but it involved a lot of spicy Indonesian food and copious amounts of rice.  And Jeny brought her signature Malaysian Fish Curry, something she can apparently conjure because she travels with this very set of spices.

Wow! This fish curry was amazing! My kids loved it and my hubby loved it. Her kids enjoyed my dishes, and my troops devoured hers. Guess the grass is always greener or spicier on the other side ;)



Now I hardly ask for a recipe if the cook doesn't offer it. But this was different. I actually had to pester her for the recipe. Not that she didn't want to part with it, but just to make sure she didn't forget ... it was sooo good! Besides, she was leaving in a day or two! She was nice enough to bring her packet of panch puran, her fish curry powder and a generous handful of curry leaves for my first attempt, along with her hand-written scribble of the recipe.

Thanks, Jeny! Been making it a few times now, to the delight of the spice loving folks at home.

Ingredients:
3 lbs snapper fillets (any firm-fleshed fish will do as well)
4 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp panchpuran (or panch phoran) spice mix*
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1" piece of ginger, minced
10-15 curry leaves
4 tomatoes, cut into wedges
2 cans coconut milk (or 1 can coconut milk and 1 can evaporated milk)
4 tbsp Baba's fish curry powder
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp turmeric powder
500 g (3 cups) cut or whole okra
1/2 cup thick tamarind juice (from 3 tbsp of tamarind block with 1 cup water)
Salt to taste

Directions:
1. In a sauté pan, heat oil until it shimmers, then add the panch puran spice mix.
2. When it starts to pop, add the onions, garlic and ginger, sweat this for 3-4 minutes.
3. Then put the curry leaves and tomatoes in.

4. When tomatoes are softened, pour in the coconut milk along with the dry ingredients and the okra.
5. When it starts to boil, add salt and tamarind juice (adjust quantity to taste).
6. Finally place the fish in gently.

Prepare this dish before hand until #5, then warm and add fish just before dinner time.

Note about okra: sautéing okra makes it slimy, so make sure to add it after coconut milk has gone in, that way the juices cook with it.

* Panch puran or panch phoran is an East Indian or Bengali seed mix. Easy to put together if you have the basic Indian spices at home. It's even nice to cook rice with. Equal portions of:
Brown Mustard seeds
Cumin seeds
Fennel seeds
Fenugreek seeds
Nigella seeds

'In a metal, non-stick, valley, lies the boiling, dumbing ground of a glorious battle waged and won. Among the warriors, the fresh coriander, ginger, and garlic that were slaughtered into paste in a tediously lengthly skirmish; hot fish once so cold it left the fingers with no feeling; blood red tomatoes butchered in hasty combat to prevent the starvation of the siblings; and the stain of ground cumin so prevalent it stains even the air.' was what poetic progeny came up with as she helped cook this with me.



This is possibly my favorite Indian fish dish. LOL .. fish dish! Why? Well typically Indian mains, especially curries, are characterized by gravies so thick and rich and scrumptious, it overwhelms the delicate flavour of the fish. Not this one. It is thick, it is rich, and most definitely scrumptious, but the fresh and herb-y cilantro, along with the ever-present tomatoes make for a lighter gravy, as opposed to the onion-tomato duo that we find in most other curries.


Aunty Viveeta told me that there are two versions of seyal in Sindhi cooking: the red seyal, with the colour emanating from the browned shallots, and the green seyal, from the fresh coriander leaves. Green seyal is best with firm fleshed fish, such as snapper, and is best enjoyed with dodo (a thick roti) to soak up all that sauce.



This recipe can also be made with eggs and potatoes for a vegetarian version, and is the same seyal used as a base for mani seyal. Or you can try it with baguettes, for a twist!

Ingredients:
8 cloves garlic
2 shallots
2 cm ginger
4-6 green chillies
4 cups fresh coriander leaves
6 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup oil
1 kg snapper fillets or chicken pieces
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp cumin powder
2 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:
1. Using a mortar & pestle, 'uleg' the garlic, shallots, ginger, chilies and coriander leaves
Uhh .... I''ll just stick to the processor, Aunty, sorry!
This should yield 4 cups of spice paste.
2. Heat oil in a pan, then stir fry the processed spice paste for 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes, and the dried spices, and cook it a further 10 minutes until cilantro is slightly browned.
4. Carefully lower the fish fillets into the pan, smothering it with the gravy, cover the pan, and cook till done.
5. Pour lemon juice and give a final (careful) stir before serving.

The fried spice paste (before meat is introduced) can be kept in the fridge for 3-4 weeks, handy for a quick mani seyal for breakfast!