Day 253,254 & 261-Ingredients for Fish Head Curry

Some of us are convinced that the 1st pot of fish head curry was created by an Indian chef called Gomez in Singapore. Back then in the 50s, where labourers and coolies squat in the backstreets for quick and cheap meals, the resourceful  Gomez had thought of a way to cook the fish heads that were usually thrown away. This dish was thought to be a uniquely Singapore one as Indians generally do not eat fish heads.  This controversial theory was of course promptly rejected by the Malaysians who claimed Fish Head Curry as their national dish. 

The Rollas however firmly believe that this dish originated from an upmarket restaurant  in  India. Needless to say, the dish is the household's favourite. At all time, ingredients necessary to whip up a pot of the curry are found in their kitchen. 

Firstly, we have the fishes of course. There are 2 types here.  The red snapper or ikan merah are generally used by the Singaporeans for this curry. It is also the one strangely preferred to by Sans!  She is of course a frequent visitor at the Rolla home, especially at meal times. The other type is the Rohi which is used a lot in Orissa and Bangladesh for the same curry. 

These fishes were bought in the JJ market in Bangkok- freezing not required as the smell was effectively masked with a generous seasoning of curry incense paste. The dish is a chopstick rest made with coconut shell and stolen from my  mum's kitchen.

Then there's the platter of necessary spices. You will need 

cinnamon cumin seeds	2 inches 1 tbsp
Chili powder	1 tsp
turmeric powder	1/2 tsp
coriander powder	3 tsp
red chili	1
mustard seeds	1/2 tsp
fenugreek seeds	1 tsp

You will also need curry leaves, preferably picked from the garden with a bamboo sieve that is actually a plastic rement and a gift from sweet Glenda. The metal basin was bought from a shop in  Little India almost 3 years ago. 

No good curry can be made without coconut milk and at the Rollas, only the best are used. I am sure many of you can tell that these are Kiva's. They were bought in April last year but they are as fresh as if they were just plucked from the tree.

These ingredients are strictly optional. The purist will not approve the use of potatoes although okra is encouraged . Cucumbers and green chillis can be made into a side dish of cool and hot salad which some people like with tomato ketchup.  Personally, I think tomato ketchup is a poor companion for any dish, even MacDonald's french fries. All items were bought from JJ market in Bangkok and most of them were touched up with paint for a more authentic look and feel. 

Lastly,  may we show off what many regard as the most important ingredients for a pot of fish head curry par excellence. The utensils! Starting from the left-  a perky ceramic pot gifted by Rosanna when I visited her in Genoa last year. The clay cooking pot was bought at JJ market in Bangkok. The bowls were panted metal caps, ladles were made from the same metal caps, toothpicks and threads. The ladle holder is a wooden bead and the antique wooden sieve was bashed from a badly made metal one. 

I will be off to Bali in less than 24 hours to sample the Balinese version of their fish head dish which is really a spicy fish head soup or sup kepala ikan, sweaty hot, at the Warung Mak Beng in Sanur.  When I return, I will unveil the Rolla's kitchen with all these ingredients in their proper and permanent place.  


In the meantime, how many of you will like some gelatinous jelly like fish eye as souvenirs from Bali?