Name: Spanish Fish Curry
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2 Spanish mackerel pieces, each about 1’’ thick; ½ ‘’ fresh ginger root, finely sliced; 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 3 shallots, thinly sliced; 2 curry leaf stalks; 1 small packaged meat curry powder; 1 star anise; 2’’ cinnamon stick; 2 cardamom pods; 1 tbsp dried chili flakes; 1 cup fresh coconut milk, diluted in 2 cups of water; 2 tbsp concentrated tamarind juice; 4 pickled baby gherkins, drained and slit halfway; 6 pickled green olives, drained and rinsed; 2-3 green chilis; Vegetable or olive oil, for cooking; Salt to taste

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This Spanish curry is a tasty Spanish fish curry stew with wonderful flavor. Serve it over rice and with a good crusty bread!

spanish curry fish stew

Spanish Fish Curry

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

2 Spanish mackerel pieces, each about 1’’ thick
½ ‘’ fresh ginger root, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 shallots, thinly sliced
2 curry leaf stalks
1 small packaged meat curry powder
1 star anise
2’’ cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods
1 tbsp dried chili flakes
1 cup fresh coconut milk, diluted in 2 cups of water
2 tbsp concentrated tamarind juice
4 pickled baby gherkins, drained and slit halfway
6 pickled green olives, drained and rinsed
2-3 green chilis
Vegetable or olive oil, for cooking
Salt to taste

Instructions

Wash and clean the mackerel pieces; set aside.
Stir in enough water into the curry powder to form a runny paste and set aside.
Drizzle some olive or vegetable oil in a stock pot so that it can submerge the curry paste.
Throw in the shallot and stir fry for a minute before stirring in the garlic as well as ginger.
Continue to saute the mixture until the shallots brown slightly.
Add the star anise, cardamom pods plus cinnamon stick into the above mixture and pour in the water-curry paste blend.
Sprinkle the chili flakes over the mixture, followed by the curry leaves and stir them all together until distributed evenly.
Simmer it over slow flame for 3-5 minutes and keep spraying water every time the curry paste tends to dry up.
Once the curry paste turns thicker, gives out a spicy aroma and oozes out oil, then pour in the coconut milk.
Add the pickled gherkins, olives as well as a dash of salt to the above mixture and stir them well to combine.
Place the Spanish mackerel pieces on the simmering curry and flip them over few times to coat well with the cooking liquid.
Cook the gravy over moderate heat, stirring at times carefully so that the fish remains intact.
Once the fish is cooked through, stir in the tamarind sauce and cook further for another couple of minutes before turning off the heat.
Skim off any excess oil accumulating on the surface of the curry and add the chilies to it.
Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes to let the chili infuse its fiery aroma as well as flavour to the curry.
Spoon over a bed of white rice and serve.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons