Sour Fish Curry

The greatest endorsement for this dish comes from my daughter, who had already consumed a full dinner and clamored for a second dinner of curry and rice.  Not bad, old boy, I says to myself.  You know it's good when a stuffed 1 year old is screaming for your curry like it was ice cream.  Right?  

Serves 4-6


1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 tsps chopped ginger
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 golf-ball-sized chunk of tamarind (2 tbsps-ish)
1/2 cup tomato sauce (preferably a good homemade sauce)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp turmeric
2-4 red birds-eye chilies, sliced (to taste)
1 can coconut 
2 tbsps chopped coriander (leaves and stems)
2 tbsps Vietnamese basil
1 sprig tarragon

2 fillets of turbot

butter (preferably ghee)

Garnish with lime, roasted cashews, julienned fresh ginger, Vietnamese basil

Dry roast your cumin and coriander separately in a pan on the stove and grind them in a mortar and pestle. 

Sweat the onion on a low medium heat in butter, in a covered pan, until it softens.  Toss in the spices, the garlic, the chilies, and the ginger, crank the heat up to high, and keep the mess in motion with a spoon; non-stop stirring it until the onion carmelize.

Pulverize the tamarind with a hand blender into the coconut milk and add it to the carmelized onions as well as the tomato sauce.  When the sauce is aboil, reduce to a medium and let simmer.  The sauce will be finished when it is a uniformly thick consistency, it should all hold together. 

Separately fry the fish in a high heat, also in butter, brown it off on either side -- don't worry about it breaking up, I usually cube it with the spatula.  Slip it to the sauce when the sauce it along with the herbs (saving some for the garnish).  

Garnish. Serve with rice.

Part of me wants to add fish sauce (and maybe even sesame oil) to this dish and make it more of an Indonesian massaman curry.