Easy Fish Curry

 

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I have to say that as easy as this recipe is, it was kind of tough to come up with. Sometimes the simplest and easiest things are also so complicated and it is quite fascinating. I mean, I don’t gerrit sometimes 🙂

Okay rewind to when I bought a piece of Red Snapper from the fish market, I had no idea what to do with it, but I had to cook it before it went bad. I spoke to my friend Belle and she said “We need you to do a curry dish” In my head, I was thinking “curry gini?” I had an old recipe in mind, but I knew I had to add my own little “lazychef” spin to it; which is to cook it with the whole fish cut up into sections, rolled in corn flour and fried first.

I remember my dad’s cousin lived with us while growing up and she was a teacher. During her lunch periods, she had access to the school’s staff cafeteria and she would sometimes bring home this green curry sauce. I still remember the taste of the curry. I started out not liking it, but it grew on me, so when Belle told me to do a curry, I had to go back to the taste of the curry which I knew of; and the rest is history 🙂

My pictures do not do this dish justice, but I swear it was soooo good!

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One good thing about this dish is that, I did not need to add any flour to thicken it. I was quite surprised, but pleased nevertheless. Another good thing about this dish is that is it gluten free as I used corn flour for the fish before frying. Another great thing is the use of Basil. I had to resist over eating oh, it was that good. Of course if you do not have Basil, you could use  “Nchawu” i.e. Nigerian scent leaves. Listen, if you can get a bottle of Maltina, please pair it with this dish and you will sing! This is a very basic recipe, but with bold flavors 🙂

Although I did use the bone in fish, you could use some chopped fillets or whole fillets. The choice is absolutely yours my people 🙂

Okay my fellow Nigerians, here you have it. An easy curry dish for you. it will help you beat the cold during the cooler months and keep you warm during the cool Summer evenings 🙂

Would I cook this  again? Absofrigginlutely!

Easy Fish Curry
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
For fish
  • 1 red snapper(cleaned and gutted) or 2 cups of chopped fish fillets. Whiting or hake fish works too
  • 1 tbsp. corn flour
  • 1tsp dry grounded pepper or red pepper flakes
  • a little squeeze of half of a lemon
  • salt to taste
For sauce
  • 2 tbsps. of coconut oil(any oil works)
  • 1inch fresh ginger(grated)
  • 2 medium sized garlic cloves(grated)
  • 1 small onion
  • 2tsps green curry powder
  • 2 medium sized tomatoes (deseeded and chopped)
  • 2 habanero peppers(deseeded and crushed) Ata-rodo works too
  • bouillon(optional)
  • 2 cups of coconut milk(fresh or store bought)
  • hand full of chopped Basil or scent leaves(optional)
  • salt
Instructions
  1. wash and pat the fish dry. Cut it into sections as needed. Season with salt and the dry chili peppers; then squeeze on the lemon and let it rest. Once the fish has been marinated, lightly dust in the flour and set aside
In a pan heat the oil; then lightly fry the fish in the oil on each side. once the fish is fried or golden brown, remove it from the oil and drain on a paper towel. Add the onion and more oil if need be. Sauté the onion until translucent; then add the garlic and ginger. Saute until fragrant; then add the curry powder and mix thoroughly. Pour in the coconut milk, tomatoes and habanero peppers. Season and stir well. Bring the sauce to a simmer for about 10minutes; then add the fish and shake the pot to distribute the heat and the sauce. If the sauce is thin, you may add the tsp of white or corn flour into some warm water to form a thin paste; then pour it into the curry pot and shake well to distribute the seasonings and flour paste. Simmer for another 10minutes,check for seasonings; then pour in the basil leaves and turn off the heat. Serve with rice or yam/potatoes
  1. I made the curry in image below using red snaper
Notes
If you are adventurous, you could season the fish with a pinch cracked uziza seeds to taste 🙂

 

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