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!
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!
- 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
- 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
- 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
Nice… can it work with mackerel?
I am sure it will. just fry or grill it really well before using in the curry