If you’re a curry fanatic, you’ll know that not all curries are created equal. While there may be similar ingredients, the flavour of a chicken curry is distinctly different from a beef curry, and a vegetarian curry is different from a fish curry.

Curries are not one of those one-gravy-fits-all types of cooking either and there’s a very good reason why packets of curry powder come with different labels for beef, mutton, chicken and fish. Each type of curry has a different mixture of spices.

There’s something addictive about the combination of coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, dried chilies, turmeric and black peppercorns typically used in fish head curry powder.

But whichever curry tops your list, there’s one thing we can all agree on – curry always tastes better the next day.

The slow cooking time means the spices gets to sit and cook for a little longer and the flavour intensifies with every hour that passes. Slow cook for four hours on low temperature and the flavours are even better than it was two hours ago. If there’s one reason to get a slow cooker, this recipe for Slow-cooker Fish Head Curry is definitely it.

Ingredients

· 941g red snapper, head and tail

· 10g (1 ½ tsp) salt

· 43g tamarind pulp, mixed with 1 cup water

· 32g fish curry powder

· 120ml (1/2 cup) + 480ml (2 cups) water

· 143g (2/3 cup) coconut milk

· 105g (1/2 cup) cooking oil

To pound

· 14g ginger, peeled

· 11g (3 cloves) garlic, peeled

· 55g (2 small) red onions, peeled and quartered

· 1 tsp cumin (jintan putih)

Sautéing ingredients

· 12g ginger

· 49g (2 small) red onions

· 8g (2 cloves) garlic

· 19g (1 stalk) lemongrass

· 4 stalks curry leaves

· 6g mixed fenugreek spices

Fresh ingredients

· 163g (1) whole tomato

· 58g (1/2) large brown onion

· 23g (1) green chillies

· 17g (1) red chillies

· 34g spring onions

· 11g coriander

Methods

· The most amount of work required when making Slow-cooker Fish Head Curry is during preparation. Go through the list above and prepare all the ingredients beforehand. Peel what needs to be peeled, cut what needs to be cut, chop what needs to be chopped.

· In a mortar, add all the items on the “to pound” ingredient list.

· Using a pestle, pound the items until coarse. The aim is to release the aroma of the ingredients, especially the cumin.

· Tip: For more consistent results (and if you have a couple of extra minutes to spare), pound the cumin first, then pound the rest of the ingredients. You can also use a blender if you’re lazy, but you will still need to pound the cumin.

Sauté/sear

· Set your slow cooker to sauté/sear high temperature function and add in cooking oil.

· Heat oil until bubbles start to firm on the base of the pot.

· While waiting, mix curry powder with 120ml cup water and stir until combined.

· Once the oil is hot enough, add in the pounded ingredients plus all sautéing ingredients. Stir occasionally, until the fragrance come out, about seven minutes.

· Next, add the curry powder and water mixture into your slow cooker. Give it a good stir. Pour everything into the pot.

· Sauté occasionally until all the spices are cooked. The curry paste will turn a darker shade when it is ready. This will take another six to seven minutes.

Slow cooker fish head curry

· Add tamarind pulp water poured through a sieve to catch any seeds. Squeeze the pulp to remove the juices.

· Next add salt, coconut milk and 480ml water. Give everything a good stir.

· Finally, add all the fresh ingredients except the coriander.

· Set slow cooker on low temperature for four hours.

· Add in the fish head and tail, burying it into the curry.

· Set the slow cooker on high temperature for 30 minutes or set a manual timer.

· Lastly, add the coriander, reserving a small pinch of the leaves for garnishing.

· Give everything a good stir, being careful not to break the fish head apart.

· Serve curry in a large bowl and sprinkle the rest of the coriander leaves on top.

This article first appeared in butterkicap.com

Butterkicap is a food and culture platform and community that enables anyone to experience Malaysia through stories of her people, food and places