Meen Kari with Tawa Paratha
A friend recently lent me a book called "Curry Cuisine: Fragrant dishes from India, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia." I'm normally a little weary of the use of the phrase "curry" -- it's just not accurate, nor fair -- to describe the enormous variety in Indian cuisine (or the rest of South East Asia for that matter) as simply "curry." But I'm no fanatic, and this book looked very promising.
This is the first dish I tried: a Sri Lankan fish stew called Meen Kari, along with a very simple, unleavened bread called Tawa Paratha. The bread was unremarkable, but the stew was excellent. It was also very simple, and quick (if it wasn't, I'd never dare try baking bread along with it, heheh).
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp ghee or butter
12 shallots (I used 6)
1 1/2 tsp AP flour
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp chili powder (I used a full teaspoon, which was a little too much -- but that all depends on how hot your chili powder is, of course)
1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
salt to taste
14 oz kingfish or salmon fillet (I used the latter), skinned and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup thick coconut milk
1 tsp wine or cider vinegar (I used rice wine vinegar)
pinch of crushed black peppercorns
1. Sautée shallots in ghee/butter until browned.
2. Add flour, tomato paste, chili powder, coriander, turmeric and salt. Mix well.
3. While stirring constantly (to avoid lumps), slowly add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.
4. Add fish, cover and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the fish is cooked.
5. Remove from heat and stir in coconut milk and vinegar.
6. Sprinkle with crushed black pepper (I also added chopped cilantro) and serve.
The flavor of this dish wasn't hugely different from anything else I've had, but it was definitely a new taste -- and an excellent one, at that. The sweetness of the shallots and coconut was perfectly balanced against the heat of the spices and the sharpness of the vinegar. I tasted the sauce before I added the vinegar, and found that it was really pretty spicy, so I decided to go with the mildest vinegar I had on hand -- rice wine vinegar. I think that was a good decision. A sharper vinegar would have bumped the heat up even more.
Serving this over rice would be good -- so it could soak up the sauce. Also, I think adding some potatoes to the stew would be a good idea.
As far as the paratha goes -- I used kosher salt, but not enough. When I use kosher salt, it seems like I almost have to double the amount, compared to regular salt. So it was very bland. Also, it was too thin to be able to soak up the sauce. I didn't have time to rise a leavened bread, but a naan would have been far better.
Well, Meen Kari is definitely gonna see some repeat play.
This is the first dish I tried: a Sri Lankan fish stew called Meen Kari, along with a very simple, unleavened bread called Tawa Paratha. The bread was unremarkable, but the stew was excellent. It was also very simple, and quick (if it wasn't, I'd never dare try baking bread along with it, heheh).
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp ghee or butter
12 shallots (I used 6)
1 1/2 tsp AP flour
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp chili powder (I used a full teaspoon, which was a little too much -- but that all depends on how hot your chili powder is, of course)
1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
salt to taste
14 oz kingfish or salmon fillet (I used the latter), skinned and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup thick coconut milk
1 tsp wine or cider vinegar (I used rice wine vinegar)
pinch of crushed black peppercorns
1. Sautée shallots in ghee/butter until browned.
2. Add flour, tomato paste, chili powder, coriander, turmeric and salt. Mix well.
3. While stirring constantly (to avoid lumps), slowly add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.
4. Add fish, cover and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the fish is cooked.
5. Remove from heat and stir in coconut milk and vinegar.
6. Sprinkle with crushed black pepper (I also added chopped cilantro) and serve.
The flavor of this dish wasn't hugely different from anything else I've had, but it was definitely a new taste -- and an excellent one, at that. The sweetness of the shallots and coconut was perfectly balanced against the heat of the spices and the sharpness of the vinegar. I tasted the sauce before I added the vinegar, and found that it was really pretty spicy, so I decided to go with the mildest vinegar I had on hand -- rice wine vinegar. I think that was a good decision. A sharper vinegar would have bumped the heat up even more.
Serving this over rice would be good -- so it could soak up the sauce. Also, I think adding some potatoes to the stew would be a good idea.
As far as the paratha goes -- I used kosher salt, but not enough. When I use kosher salt, it seems like I almost have to double the amount, compared to regular salt. So it was very bland. Also, it was too thin to be able to soak up the sauce. I didn't have time to rise a leavened bread, but a naan would have been far better.
Well, Meen Kari is definitely gonna see some repeat play.
