Shark Head Curry

Kari Safran Latet Pwason's delectable Fish Head Curried in Turmeric mixes the varied textures of the fish head with the medicinal benefits of turmeric to create a dish that is wholesome and nutritious. Traditionally, the Seychellois do not fillet their fish, which is always cooked on the bone. Except for the shark head, which is only thrown away once the skin has been removed and dried, the head is never thrown away. Small fish heads are normally cooked with the remainder of the fish, as opposed to huge fish heads, which are sometimes served as a meal, as is the case in this recipe.

The Seychellois don't throw away their fish. Eating the head of a fish is still quite normal for them. In fact, they consider it to be the tastiest part of the fish since it provides a variety of sensory pleasures, ranging from gelatinous parts to delicate cheek meat and somewhat chewy eyeballs! Many people avoid eating fish heads because they prefer clean, boneless fillets. The fish's head contains a lot of delicious meat and has more flavor than any other portion of the fish; flavor like you wouldn't believe!

Ingredients

• 1 medium to large fish head- red snapper, any snapper or Trevally, 1 large onion, sliced, 1½ tsp turmeric powder, 1 medium size young luffa (Pipangay) (note 1), 4 green bilimbi, washed or 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 ripe tomato- chopped, 2 tsp crushed garlic, 2 tsp crushed ginger, 2 tbsp vegetable oil, 200 ml water, 2 twigs thyme, 2 twigs parsley- chopped, salt and cracked pepper

Instructions

• Clean and Prepare Fish Head
• Take your time and scrape off the scales by means of a sharp knife or a fish scaler. The scales are almost everywhere , including the top of the head, the cheeks, the collars, the gill covers.
• Use the same knife to remove the gills.
• Rinse and wash away as much blood away from the tissue as you can.
• You will require a solid work bench to perform this next step.
• Separate the two collars from the rest of the head and thoroughly rinse them and pat dry.
• Use a cleaver or a heavy knife, divide the remainder of the head into manageable portions. Divide the head into halves along the lateral axis, and then cut each half into smaller parts.
• Rinse under running water, drain and keep
• Prepare the luffa and bilimbi
• Wash the ridge gourd and cut off the ends. Use a sharp small knife and peel off all the ribbed skin. Wash and cut into cubes of about 4cm.
• Wash bilimbi and slice into rondels .If you cannot access fresh bilimbi you can buy frozen ones from Asian shops. If you cannot access bilimbi at all, half a tablespoon of lemon juice is a good alternative.
• Finishing the Curry
• Heat oil in a medium size pot and sweat onion, then add garlic and ginger.
• Add the chopped tomato, turmeric powder, mix well and let fry for a few seconds and then add the water. Do not fry off your turmeric for too long as it will turn bitter.
• Gently add the fish head, cubed luffa, chopped parsley and thyme.
• Once the pot starts to boil, turn heat to simmer and cook for about 25 minutes. Avoid stirring the curry but give your pot a quick shake every now and then.
• This Fish Head Curried in Turmeric- Kari Safran Latet Pwason- is ideally served with plain boiled rice and green pawpaw chutney and accompanied with a vegetable asar. The rice will fully absorb the juice and collagen released from the bones, and the turmeric brightens up the mildly sweet flesh without overpowering the delicate flavours.