A Simple Supper

While hunting for something eat in the night, found some leftover sandwich bread. As I was thinking of what to do with it, many ideas came flowing. Finally, chose to make fritters out of them. Yes, using bread instead of flour. Yeah, why not? Lets give it a try.

Fish Fritters

What do we need:




4 slices of stale bread
1 fish, filleted
1 onion
1 green chilli
1/2 inch ginger
1 bunch coriander leaves
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt
oil

How do we do it:

Chop the onion, chilli, ginger and coriander leaves very finely. Set aside.

Dip the bread slices into a bowl of water. Squeeze of the water immediately. Place the fish fillets and the bread into a food processor. Process until it becomes a smooth paste. Transfer the paste into a bowl. Mix with the chopped ingredients. Add garam masala, turmeric powder and salt.

Heat oil. Drop the batter by tablespoonful into the hot oil. Fry on medium heat until golden brown.




The fritters are very crispy. To gain the crispiness, ensure that the batter is thick enough.

Serve the fish fritters hot with your favourite dipping sauce.

The Food That I'd Die For # 3

I have been coming across fish curries everywhere. Though I am not a curry girl, the only curry I love is fish curry. Fish pieces cooked in distinctively spiced and simmered sauce. Curry has a strong and pungent smell that is irresistible.

The taste of fish curry largely depends on the type of fish and the curry powder used. I never buy the curry powders that are available here in Europe. Mine are specially brought from home; not homemade though. Vegetables like lady's finger or okra, brinjal, tomatoe and raw mango are famous secondary ingredients in fish curries. They help to boost up the taste of the curry. I love fish curry with lots of garlic and tomatoes.

I hardly know names of fishes in Tamil. I have heard of a few names but have no idea of how the fish looks like. Eg. thiruka, koduva and parei meen. I would appreciate if any of you would help me with the English term. I know most of them in Malay as it is the language spoken in the wet markets in Malaysia. Mike, if u are reading this, would you let me know what ikan parang and ikan terubuk are in English and what dory fish is in Malay? Also know a few names in English though. Now, learning them in German as well. My favourite fish curries are pomfret, spanish mackerel and baby shark (sura meen) curries.

Fish Curry

What do we need:



500g fish steaks
1 large tomatoe, quartered
1 onion, sliced
10 cloves garlic, coarsely sliced
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tsp tamarind pulp
1 cup water
3/4 cup thick coconut milk
3 tbsp fish curry powder
1/2 tsp fenugreek
1/2 tsp sugar
salt to taste
oil

How do we do it:

Clean, cut and wash the fish pieces with salt. Set aside.

Mix the curry powder with some water to make a paste. Mix the tamarind pulp to the rest of the water to produce tamarind juice. Set them aside.

Heat oil in a pot. Add the fenugreek, curry leaves, sliced onion and garlics. Sauté until aromatic. Add the curry paste. In goes the tamarind juice. Place the fish pieces into the pot. Let it cook on medium heat.

When the fish is almost cooked, pour the coconut milk. Let the curry simmer on medium low heat. When the fish has cooked, add tomatoes. Season with salt and sugar.

Fish Curry with Rice and Stir-fried Mixed Vegetables

Serve fish curry with hot piping rice, rotis or bread.

The Fashion of Fusion

Fusion is a term which implies the combination of several cuisines in one dish. Fusion at its best allows ingredients from all over to be cooked and served together as a one plate dish.

Being born and bred in a multi-racial country, I literally grew up on fusion food. The food of the 3 main races are always mix matched to create a new hybrid dish or to just upgrade a dish to become more interesting and exciting.

My siblings and I do not fancy curries. My ex-office mates back home used to tease me; "Being an Indian, how could you not like curries?". We do not like anything with curry powder. So, my mom had to be very innovative to create simple food that would attract us. She combines non-indian ingredients and cook them up with an indian touch.

For the FMR-Fusion event at Meenakshi's Hooked On Heat, I am cooking up one of my family's favourite fusion fish dish. This kind of simple food goes very well among us. Everyone of us would have a second helping.

Soya Sauced Fish

What do we need:




500g fish steaks
2 carrots
4 leaves of cabbage
1 onion
2 inches ginger
3 cloves garlic
3 dried chillies
1 cup water
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp sugar
salt
oil

Thickening:
1 tsp corn starch
1 tbsp water

How do we do it:

Cut the cabbage leaves into 1 inch pieces. Slice the carrots diagonally. Slice the onion into thick rings. Julienne the ginger and garlic.

Add salt and turmeric powder to the fish steaks. Heat oil and fry them. Set aside.

In the same pan, reduce the fish fried oil to just 2 tablespoons. Sautè the ginger, garlic and the dried chilles until aromatic. Add the vegetables. Stir to mix. Pour 1 cup of water and cook covered. When the vegetables are almost cooked, add the sauces and season with salt and sugar. Bare in mind that salt has already been added to the fish before frying it and there is high content of salt in soy sauce. Add the corn starch and water mixture. When the sauce starts to thicken, add the fried fishes. Stir gently but thoroughly to ensure all the fish pieces are coated with the sauce. Remove from heat.




Other than cabbage and carrot, any other hard vegetables could be used. French beans is a favourite.




Soy sauced fish best served with hot piping rice.