Shared ingredients
Salmon head | Garlic | Ginger | Curry leaves | Short grain rice
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Salmon Head Curry
Share meal plan
The most overlooked cut makes the richest pot. The head is split, simmered in a from-scratch spice paste with tamarind, coconut milk, lady's fingers and tomato until the cheeks turn meltingly tender and the broth turns sour-sweet. Ask your fishmonger to halve it — the rest is time.
Ingredients
Salmon head, cleaned and split
Dried chillies
Shallots
Garlic
Ginger
Ground turmeric
Malaysian curry powder
Mustard seeds
Fenugreek seeds
Curry leaves
Lemongrass
Palm sugar (gula melaka)
Tamarind concentrate
Eggplant
Okra (lady's fingers)
Tomatoes
Coconut milk
Cooking oil
Salt
How To
Soak dried chillies in boiling water for 30 minutes, drain, then blend with shallots, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and a pinch of salt into a rough spice paste.
Heat oil, bloom mustard and fenugreek seeds until they crackle, then add the spice paste and fry stirring constantly for 6–7 minutes until the oil separates.
Add curry powder, curry leaves, and lemongrass, stir for another minute, then pour in water, palm sugar, tamarind, and salt.
Add salmon head pieces and eggplant, cover and simmer on medium-low for 20 minutes.
Add okra and tomatoes, cook uncovered for 10 minutes, stir in coconut milk, heat until just simmering and serve over rice.
Tips & Tricks
Make the spice paste the night before — soak the dried chillies, blend, then fry in oil until the paste darkens and the oil separates. This is the bulk of the work. Refrigerate overnight. Day of, bloom the mustard seeds, add the paste back in, pour in water and tamarind, then add the fish head and simmer for 30 minutes.
Ask your fishmonger to halve the head — it cooks faster and the cheeks fall free.