Mango fish curry

 

I first ate this dish in an Indian Mamak shop and I really loved it, so I had to try cooking it to have it anytime at home. One mistake I made was forgetting to put in the curry leaves but it still tasted good. It is best to eat the fish with the mango slices.

Ingredients

2 blocks ikan tenggiri (Spanish mackerel)
10 ladies’ fingers (okra)
2 tomatoes
1 semi-ripe mango

Slice the mango with the skin on

Remove the top and bottom of the ladies’ fingers

I pack frozen chili paste
Add 2 spoonsful of fish curry powder to the defrosted chili paste

Mix thoroughly

Heat some oil in the pan
Put in the chili paste and stir until it is fragrant.
If needed add a little water to prevent the chili from being burnt

Put in the mango slices and curry leaves

Cook for about 5 mins

Add the okra, and 100 ml water, and mix thoroughly.
Cover and simmer for 5 mins.

Add the santan and a little salt

Cut the tomatoes into wedges

Add the tomatoes and mix well

Put in the fish and spoon the curry gravy over it
Cover and cook for about 10 mins  

Turn the fish over
Cover and cook for about 20 mins or until the fish is cooked

Dish up and serve hot

Beef rendang with homemade chili paste

Beef Rendang is a Malaysian curry whereby there is very little gravy, but the meat is so tender, it falls apart easily. It is commonly eaten with nasi lemak or plain rice. It actually tastes better if kept overnight.

 1800 gm beef chuck eye

Cut the beef into bite-size cubes
Wash and drain

To make the chilli paste

10 shallots
6 cloves garlic
3 buah keras (candlenuts) to thicken the chilli paste
10 - 12 dried chillies  
3 lemongrass (white part only)
1 inch ginger

Cut all the ingredients into small pieces and put into a bowl 
Mix it up 

Cut the dried chilli into small pieces so that it is easy to remove the seeds. 

Put the cut chilli into a colander and place on a plate

Shake the colander so that the seeds will drop onto the plate

Put the chilli into a pot of water and boil for 5 minutes
Boiling the chilli makes it softer for blending and also removes the raw taste of the chilli
When the chilli is ready drain the water and shake off any more seeds left inside

Put 100 ml water and all the ingredients into the blender

Blend until it is a smooth paste 

Aromatics 

1 stick cinnamon, about 2-inch length3 cloves

3 star anise
3 cardamom pods
2 teaspoons tamarind pulp (assam jawa)
6 kaffir lime leaves
6 tablespoons kerisik, toasted coconut
1 tablespoon sugar or palm sugar to taste
salt to taste

Heat 5 tablespoons of cooking oil in the wok.

Add the cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and cardamom and stir-fry until aromatic. 

Add the chilli paste and fry until the oil comes to the surface

Add the beef, kafir lime leaves and lemongrass and mix thoroughly

 Soak the tamarind pulp in some warm water for the juice and discard the seeds

Add the coconut milk, tamarind juice, water and simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes

Transfer to the slow cooker and cook for 3 hours

Add the kerisik (toasted coconut), palm sugar, stirring to blend well with the meat.

Cook for another hour or until the meat is tender.

If the gravy is too watery, transfer to a wok 
Cover and simmer until the gravy has dried up.

Add more salt and sugar to taste if needed.
Serve immediately with steamed rice or nasi lemak and save some for overnight.

Baked chicken drumsticks (烤鸡腿)

 

This is an easy no-fuss meal to cook, and the children love it. You can eat it as it is or add a side salad. 

Ingredients

1 large onion
4 potatoes
White button mushrooms
Salt and pepper

1 chicken drumstick per person

Pull the skin back and make slits on the flesh

Season with freshly ground salt and pepper
Pull the skin back over the flesh

Cover the chicken with cling film and let it marinate for an hour or more

Heat some oil in a pan and fry the chicken drumsticks

Remove when the drumsticks are slightly browned

Alternatively, you can use the air fryer to fry the drumsticks
Set the air fryer temperature at 190 degrees

Set the timer for 17 minutes
Turn it on for 1 minute to warm up so the chicken won’t stick to the basket

Put the chicken into the fryer and start cooking

Turn the chicken over halfway through
Remove and set aside

Wash and cut the potatoes into chunks
Place in a baking tray with the corn
Season with olive oil and some rosemary or mixed herbs

Wash and slice the mushrooms
Place the mushrooms on the potatoes

Place the drumsticks on the mushrooms

Peel, wash and slice the onions
Place the onions on the chicken

Pour the chicken juices from the air fryer onto the onions

Cover with a sheet of baking paper

Cover with a sheet of tin foil

Bake in the oven at 210 degrees C for one hour

Remove the baking sheet and tin foil
Let the chicken brown and then it is ready for serving

Remove from the oven and serve