Tin fish curry
Recipe provided by Rani Dhanjal
"Roti parcels" - chapati or roti wrapped into a neat parcel around a highly spiced filling - usually, chicken, vegetable, or tinned fish - are one of the most accessible quick lunches available in Fiji. And one of the tastiest. I'm surprised that no-one has set up a roti parcel franchise chain yet (or maybe they have).
The rotis themselves are no more than a dough made from flour (not quite wholemeal, but not completely refined - there is a variety called "sharps" in Fiji) and water, occasionally with a spoon of oil or ghee. The ingredients for roti may be simple but the preparation requires some skill. The dough must be of a particular consistency (different flours absorb different amounts of water), and the hotplate or skillet on which the roti is cooked must be at a certain temperature to cook through without burning.
Once the rotis are made, or otherwise acquired, a dod of filling is applied to the centre and the whole thing wrapped up. The following is one type of filling, but any curry which is not too runny can be used.
This curry does not have to be used in roti parcels of course, but can be eaten separately with roti or rice as part of a "table" meal.
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 "knob" of fresh ginger, grated
- 1 onion, grated
- Half a teaspoon of ground turmeric (haldi)
- Half teaspoon cumin seed (jeera)
- 1 teaspoon mustard seed (sarso)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 (flat) teaspoon garam masala
- 2 tins of tuna (skipjack, in oil) or 1 tin mackerel
- Chilli pods - depends on your taste and the type of chilli
- Tin of garden peas or cup of frozen peas
In a frying pan over a good flame, add the oil from one of the tins of tuna (or add a tablespoon of oil if using fish in brine or tomato sauce. In this, fry the garlic and ginger together with the cumin and mustard seed, until the mustard starts to pop. Add the onion and fry a little longer until the onion is soft. Add some water or some more oil if necessary to stop the mixture sticking. Add the turmeric and tomato and allow it to form a paste. Add the tins of fish, the chilli, and garam masala and cook until heated through. Salt to taste (depending on the saltiness of the fish used).
Like most curries, it helps to develop the flavour if left for a few hours before consumption, but this is essentially fast food. Gourmet fare it is not. Even so it is a famous and authentic taste of Fiji, where tinned fish (especially mackerel) is not a substitute for reef-fish, but is seen as a culinary item in its own right, with its own distinct flavour.
