assam batang curry

I was craving for batang. It is the local name for mackerel.

I love batang!! Love! Love! Love!

When I was pregnant with Aden, all I wanted to eat was fried batang. But I was unable to go near a hot stove so the LAM learnt to fry batang the way I liked, which was basically to fry it to death. Aromatic and crispy and salty. YUMMY!

Anyway, I digress.

So, as I was saying, I wanted batang, and I wanted curry.

The obvious thing to do was to combine them and make a batang curry!

To start, I fried the batang pieces in some oil until they were brown. They were set aside.

In my hot Dutch oven, I sauteed sliced red onions in vegetable oil until they were well-cooked.

Into this, I added curry leaves. I always put a ton of curry leaves in my curries because, well, I like them a lot, and we have a curry tree growing in our estate. How convenient, hehe. I also added lemon grass. And stirred them around for a couple of minutes.

I added fish curry paste and gave everything a stir.

This was followed by fish curry powder.

This was cooked for about 2-3 minutes.

Before I added water.

Once the water came to a boil, I added the okra and egg plant which I had lightly sauteed in hot oil.

Finally, I added the batang, as well as fish sauce and assam.

I garnished with plenty of fresh coriander. You can also add sliced green chili.


This was so good, I ate it with rice two nights running.

And I rarely eat the same thing twice in a week!

Assam Batang Curry
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  1. 5 pieces batang, about 1.5cm thick)
  2. 1 large eggplant (brinjal), cut into pieces
  3. 5 okra, cut into pieces
  4. 1 large red onion, sliced
  5. 3 stalks lemon grass, white part only, sliced
  6. 4 sprigs curry leaves
  7. 2 tablespoons fish curry powder
  9. 3 tablespoons assam (tamarind) soaked in 1/2 cup water
  10. 2 cups water
  11. 1 teaspoon fish sauce, or to taste
  12. 1 bunch coriander, chopped
  13. 2-3 green chili, sliced (optional)
  1. Saute eggplant in a little oil in a hot skillet until slightly brown. Remove and set aside. Repeat with okra.
  3. Add curry powder and paste. Stir until mixed.
  4. Add water and bring to a boil.
  5. Add eggplant and okra. Lower heat and simmer 10-15 minutes, until vegetables have softened. Add fish sauce and liquid from soaked assam. Add fish. Stir to mix. Check and adjust seasoning.
  6. Garnish with coriander and green chili and serve, hot, with rice.
The Domestic Goddess Wannabe


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2. Bread Flour
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