For the past few months we've had a new face at the place I work at, a veterinarian that's part timing with us at the bar. She's from Sri Lanka and knowing the reality that most of us are just temporarily working together, I decided to cook something from her hometown for our staff meal.
I made Sri Lankan Canned Mackerel Curry. It's slightly similar to what we Malaysian cook which is canned sardines with curry so it was pretty familiar in terms of flavor profile.
It starts with loads of onions is Sautéed with garlic then the spices of cloves, cinnamon, fenugreek, mustard seed, chili powder, turmeric powder, and curry powder goes in.
Add in some water and continue cooking for 5-10 minutes then curry leaves, Pandan, and the canned mackerel goes in. Cook for another 5-10 minutes on low heat then add in coconut milk to finish.
I cooked cabbage with turmeric as well for the vegetables and we had everything with rice. Such a delicious meal that was so full of flavor and so satisfying!
My sous made Teh tarik for us, completing the meal and making it such a memorable one.
Thanks for introducing the dish to me and hope it reminds you of home and family 🙌
