Guyanese Gilbaka (Fish) Curry

INGREDIENTS

ONION/GARLIC SEASONING

• 1 small yellow onion
• 1 head of garlic, peeled
• 3-4 fresh or dried thyme leaves
• ⅓ cup water

FOR CURRY

• 2 lbs Gilbaka fish
• 2 limes to soak fish
• ½ cup onion/garlic seasoning
• 5 tbsp curry powder
• 2 tbsp + ½ tsp garam masala
• 5 tbsp water
• 3 large pieces of green mango (skin on)
• 1 small tomato
• 3 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 ¼ tsp salt (add more if needed)
• About 1 ½ cup boiling water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Chop fish into desired size chunks. Chop and squeeze lime juice over fish, add water and let sit for 20 minutes.
2. Rinse fish a few times and dry each piece of fish with paper towels.
3. Make onion/garlic seasoning by blending onion, garlic, pepper, and thyme leaves with ⅓ cup of water in a blender. This should give you 1 cup of mixture.
4. Add ½ cup onion/garlic mixture to the fish. Leave fish to absorb seasonings for a minimum of 30 min.
5. Chop tomato and mango and set aside. Bring a kettle or small pot of water to a boil while you complete the next step.
6. In a small bowl, mix curry powder and garam masala with 5 tbsp water to form a thick liquid.
7. Heat a wide bottomed pot with 3 tbsp oil. Add curry powder/masala mixture and fry until most liquid has evaporated. Add ½ cup boiling water and tomato.
8. Let the mixture cook until tomatoes become soft and tender.
9. Add the fish and enough water to cover ½ inch of fish. (This was about 1 cup of boiling water for me). Add salt, stir gently.
10. Let fish boil on medium heat for 25 minutes, then add green mango with skin. Leaving the skin on will allow the mango to stay intact, otherwise, it will dissolve slightly.
11. Let curry boil for an additional 15-20 minutes until it begins to look thick and mango is completely soft. Do not turn frequently during this period as you do not want the fish to break.
12. Enjoy with rice or roti  (alicaspepperot)