Balaya Fish Curry

Name: Balaya Fish Curry
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Sri Lankan
Ingredients: 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) tuna steaks; 80 ml (2½ fl oz/⅓ cup) boiled water; 8 cm (3¼ inch) piece rampe (pandanus) leaf*, cut in half; 1 teaspoon salt; 4 pieces of goroka*; ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1 red onion*, sliced; 185 ml (6 fl oz/¾ cup) coconut cream*; 1 teaspoon unroasted chilli powder*; 1 teaspoon Manike’s thuna paha (or store-bought roasted curry powder); 1 thin green chilli*, halved lengthways; 1 sprig curry leaves, leaves picked; 250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) coconut milk*

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Hidden Kitchens of Sri Lanka

By Bree Hutchins

Published 2013

About

Watching a tough-looking inmate in a torn, dirty singlet hack at a huge balaya fish (skipjack tuna) with a machete wasn’t exactly appetising, but this is a delicious recipe and I’m glad I tried it. It has a slight tanginess from the goroka, a sour dried fruit, and a decent kick from the chilli.

Ingredients

4 pieces of goroka*
80 ml (2½ fl oz/⅓ c

Asia
Sri Lanka
Monaragala
Batticaloa
Fish course
Lunch
Pescatarian
Gluten-free
Spicy

Method

Soak the goroka in the boiled water for 30 minutes, then strain, reserving the soaking water. Remove the seeds from the goroka and discard them, then roughly chop. Using a mortar and pestle, pound the goroka into a paste, gradually adding a little of the reserved water. Wash the fish and cut into 3 cm (11/4