Sri Lankan Fish Curry

This bright yellow curry is sweet and lightly spiced, with a focus on the individual flavours of each spice. Some variants of it use gambooge or tamarind juice to add a little sourness, but I prefer to add lemon grass for that light lemony flavour. I had this curry in Mirissa with tuna and boiled rice and was amazed by its light playful melding of sweet coconut with bitter coriander. A vegetarian version of the curry can be made by substituting the fish with okra (lady's finger) and frying the okra with the onions prior to stewing it in the coconut milk. 

For the fish, this curry is typically made with thick cut tuna steaks, but I preferred to use Malabar Trevally. Malabar Trevally is a firm white sea fish with a fairly bland taste. I preferred this fish to the strong flavoured tuna as the bland fish acts as a great palette for the spices of the curry. You can use Basa or a similar firm white fish, but try to get skin-on filets as it will prevent the fish from disintegrating while stewing.

Ingredients

• 300 g Malabar Trevally filet, with skin, cut into large chunks
• 1 star anise
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 cups thin coconut milk
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 stalk lemon grass
• 1 pandan leaf (or substitute with 1 bayleaf)
• 1 green chili, slit and chop into large chunks
• 1 handful curry leaves
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp turmeric powder
• salt to taste

Method

1. Add some salt and half the turmeric to the fish and rub it into the fish. Let it aside for an hour.
2. Heat the coriander, cumin and star anise in a pan and roast lightly to release its aroma.
3. Remove the star anise and pound the cumin and coriander into a fine powder.
4. Heat the oil in a pan and add the onions. Sweat down the onions till it turns translucent. 
5. Add the curry leaves, green chilies and the coriander-cumin powder. Fry lightly and add the chopped tomato.
6. Once the tomato has cooked add the cinnamon, coconut milk and star anise and lower the flame.
7. Bash the lemon grass with the back of a spatula, and add it to the pan along with the turmeric, pandan (bayleaf), fish pieces and salt to taste. Stir it lightly to get the turmeric to evenly diffuse.
8. Cover and let it stew on a low flame till the fish is cooked.
9. Serve up with boiled rice or appams.