International Supper Club: Sri Lanka
Back to island cooking! This particular island is known as “India’s teardrop.” Sri Lanka offers a gorgeous cuisine of blended cultural influences from neighboring countries and from foreign trade over the course of hundreds of years. Cinnamon originated in Sri Lanka and was discovered by the Egyptians. The country still produces 80-90 percent of the world supply. So, although there are many similarities to south-Indian dishes, Sri Lankan food has its own place at the table, and for good reason. Tonight’s dish, for example, contains goraka, which I had to special order from an international grocery store. Remember in the mid-2000s when Dr. Oz said Garcinia Cambogia was the superfruit that would give you your dream body, cure cancer, heal warts, create world peace and get you promoted? Goraka is another name for the same fruit. Still waiting on the extreme weight loss and world peace he promised but it is tangy and really tasty in this curry. I’m excited to cook other dishes with it, as I had to buy a few ounces at once.
On the side, I made naan-like, tortilla-like, coconutty flatbreads that were a perfect balance to the curry.
Anywhere you go on the island you’ll find curries, steamed rice dishes and lots of breads and spices. But, no matter which household you might visit for dinner, you will find a tasty version of Fish Ambul Thiyal (sour fish curry) passed down from someone’s great-great-grandma.
This dish was designed to preserve several pounds of fish (usually tuna) at a time and over the years has become a household staple. So, I give you my best try at sour fish curry and on the side, crispy, spicy-hot roti.
Varying recipes for this dish are sprinkled all over the internet but eventually, I stumbled upon this blog written by Sri Lankan native (and cookbook author) S.H. Fernando Jr. I knew this was a winner from reading the comments on the post. I learn just as much from the comments as I do from the actual post. Almost every dish I’ve cooked from around the globe has been altered just a bit based on a local tip from the comments section.
FISH AMBUL THIYAL (SOUR FISH CURRY)
1 pound tuna
5 cloves garlic
2-inch piece ginger
1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
1 teaspoon fenugreek
5 pieces goraka
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons oil (any neutral oil or ghee)
1 onion, chopped
1 clove
1 cardamom pod
1-inch stick cinnamon
1 sprig curry leaves
1/2 cup water
spices for roasting:
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon fennel powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
Wash the fish and cut it into 1-inch cubes.
Roast the last four ingredients in a pan until rich and dark in color (be careful not to burn it). This step made me cough like crazy.
Place the garlic, ginger, roasted spices, black pepper, fenugreek, goraka, and salt into a food processor or blender and grind into a thick paste. Add a little water if necessary.
Coat the fish in the paste.
Heat oil in a pan and saute onions, clove, cardamom, cinnamon, and curry leaves until the onion is translucent.
Place fish in the pan with water and remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until all water has evaporated or fish has reached your desired doneness (about 15 minutes).
While fish is cooking, make a batch of roti to enjoy alongside your curry.
COCONUT ROTI
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup grated coconut (fresh, if you can find one at your grocery store)
½ red onion, chopped finely
1 green chili (I used a serrano since it’s what we had on hand. Leave it out if you don’t want extra hot roti.)
Red chili flakes, a pinch or more/less
½ cup water
Oil or ghee for frying
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until combined and heat oil in a large frying pan or griddle.
Use an ice cream scoop to measure out equal-sized balls, roll in your hands and flatten. The dough will be sticky!
Fry a few at a time in the pan. Cook until crispy around the edges.
