TO A FLAVORFUL 2012 !

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

I didn't make it here for my Christmas wish, so I made sure I'm early for my New Year wish. 2011 is coming to an end, making way for 2012 to unfold soon. As we begin to reflect on our experiences in this past year, many of us will also begin to make new year resolutions. Do resolutions really work? I guess they do. Only if your determination to see them through is strong enough. I used to make new year resolutions every year during my teens and the last time I made any was probably when I was in my early 20s, having just started work and excited at earning an income. I've made so many resolutions in the past but 2 out of the many resolutions I distinctively remember that never made it through were 1) study harder 2) save more money. Knowing my past 'success rate' with new year resolutions, I don't even bother with it anymore. I can be such a procrastinator that the resolutions never get put into practice. I can also easily get bored and lazy with my original plan if I linger with it too long and thus, it will probably change again and again along the way. Or simply, they would just remain as empty promises to myself. If I have a resolution or an improvement or an aspiration to achieve these days, I'll try to work on it as soon as I can at any day of the year. So far this has been a pretty good system for me as I get things achieved sooner and surer. I guess I'm the kind who is better with short-term goals than long-term ones!

So, do you have a resolution you intend to silently pledge to yourself in the next couple of days? If it's going to be 'to cook more curries' (I'm saying this just because I have a nice curry recipe to share), I have a nice and easy home curry recipe to share here (see, I told ya! :).

This is my Mom's version of deliciously tangy fish curry that uses a mixed of Indian spices, condiments and fish curry powder. My Mom would always prepare this wonderful homey curry of hers with either golden snapper (ikan jenak/jenahak) or mackerel (ikan tenggiri) that were freshly hauled in from the Straits of Melaka. This curry also has ladies' fingers, brinjals and tomatoes cooked to soft perfection. I would love to flood my plate of rice with this curry before I dig in. Keep any leftover and reheat it the next day to go with bread.

Ingredients:

~ 1/4 cup cooking oil

~ 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
~ 1 large onion, roughly chopped
~ some curry leaves (optional)
~ 1 tbsp of Indian spice mix (mix of fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds & mustard seeds)

~ 2 star anise
~ 4-5 cloves
~ an inch-long cinnamon stick
~ 5 tbsps fish curry powder + 2 tsps optional chilli powder (mix with 3 or 4 tbsp water to form a thick paste)
~ 4 or 5 cut slices snapper or mackerel (or stingray)
~ 5 ladies' fingers/okra (cut into 1.5 long pieces)
~ 2 round or long brinjals/eggplant (slice lengthwise in half then cut into 1.5 inch long pieces)
~ 2 large tomatoes (quartered)
~ 2 tbsps tamarind paste (rub well with 1 cup water to get the juice, discard the seeds)

~ 5 cups water


Method:

~ Heat the oil in a small frying pan under small fire. When hot, saute together the spices, garlic and onion for until fragrant before adding in the curry paste and curry leaves.
~ Saute everything for another 2 minutes or until the curry paste is fragrant but not over burnt. Then, transfer the paste to a pot large enough for cooking the curry.
~ Pour the tamarind juice and cups of water into the paste in the pot. Let it come to a simmer for a while, and then taste it. It should be slightly tangy.
~ Add in all the vegetables and let it simmer until all the vegetables are cooked to soft perfection.
~ If the gravy is too tangy, add in a little bit of water. If it's not, add in a little bit of tamarind juice. It's really up to your personal preference.
~ Lastly, add in the fish slices and enough salt to taste, let it come to a boil for a few minutes until the fish is cooked. Serve hot with a plate of rice.

This is my last recipe to share for this year and hope you'll enjoy it. Once again...

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU !
MAY 2012 BRINGS US ALL WORLD & PERSONAL PEACE WITH MORE TOLERANCE LESS FIGHTINGS, MORE JUSTICE LESS CORRUPTIONS, MORE CHARITY LESS GREED, MORE LOVE LESS HATRED, MORE SAFETY LESS ACCIDENTS, MORE GOOD HEALTH LESS SICKNESS, MORE WISDOM & COMPASSION LESS IGNORANCE.

HAVE A BLESSED AND SAFE NEW YEAR!

cheers,
petite nyonya