Name: Ikan Masak Ceylon (Fish Cooked Ceylon Style)
Yield: Makes 4 to 6 Servings
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons coriander powder; 1 bunch coriander leaves (cilantro), stemmed; Green and red chillies, sliced lengthwise; 120 g or 4 ounces tamarind (assam) paste, soaked in 1½ cup hot water; 3 tablespoons oil; 1 teaspoon cumin (jintan puteh); 1 teaspoon fennel (jintan manis); 2 teaspoons black pepper cloves; 30 dried chillies, deseeded; Salt to taste; 6 cloves garlic, peeled; 3 to 4 steaks of mackerel (ikan tenggiri), each 5 cm or 2 inch thick; 20 shallots, peeled and quartered

Preparation info

Makes
4 to 6
Servings

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Growing Up In A Nonya Kitchen

By Sharon Wee

Published 2012

About

My mother often asked me to read this particular recipe to her, given by one of her Malay friends. The fish tasted good and that is why I always had it in mind to include it.

Ingredients

3 to 4 steaks of mackerel (ikan tenggiri), each 5 cm or 2 inch thick
2 tablespoons coriander powder
1

Method

Rinse the fish steaks and pat dry.
Grind the coriander, cumin, fennel, black pepper and dried chilli, garlic, ginger and shallots.
Heat a saucepan and add oil. When the oil is glistening, gently fry the spice paste. Add the fish steaks.
Strain the assam and add the juice to the saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer until the fish