Name: Kari Ikan Mak (Mum’s Fish Curry)
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Malaysian
Ingredients: 500 ml (16 fl oz / 2 cups) coconut milk; 1 tsp salt, or to taste; 3 tomatoes, cut into quarters; 1 tsp turmeric powder; 4 Tbsp tamarind juice, or to taste; 3 shallots, peeled and sliced; 4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced; 1 stalk curry leaves, stem discarded; 3 Tbsp vegetable oil; 4 basa fillets or whole Spanish mackerel, gutted and cleaned, total about 300 g (11 oz); 125 ml (4 fl oz / ½ cup) water; 1 tsp fenugreek; ½ tsp mustard seeds; ½ tsp fennel seeds; 2.5-cm (1-inch) knob ginger, peeled and sliced; 8 ladies’ fingers, ends trimmed; 1 Tbsp chilli powder, or to taste; 2 Tbsp curry powder; ½ tsp cumin seeds

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

My Rendang isn't Crispy

By Zaleha Kadir Olpin

Published 2019

About

I cook this often for my family, and if I could, I would cook it every day! I adapted this dish from my mum’s recipe which is very spicy, as my younger daughter preferred a creamier sauce. In the UK, I use basa fillet, but in Malaysia, I would always go for whole Spanish mackerel.

Ingredients

4 basa fillets or whole Spanish mackerel, gutted and cleaned, total about 300 g (11 oz)
3

Method

Cut the fish into small pieces. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the tempering spices and curry leaves. Cover with a lid and let the spices splutter.
Add the garlic, shallots and ginger and fry for about 1 minute until fragrant. Turn the heat down.
Combine the ingredients for the spice paste and add to the pot. Stir