Tamarind Curry Fish (Kari Ikan Assam)

I love curry ikan assam but eating curry assam fish head in Malaysia restaurant at NYC can be quite pricey.And that not only the problem for me.Beside the price ,eating a huge claypot curry assam fish alone is not really enjoyable,pleasurable and it's wasteful.If hubby accompany me to Malaysia restaurant,he won't eat anything that is hot and spicy ..Actually it's no fun at all eating alone or by myself....So the best solution for me is to cook curry assam fish at home since I can basically get every Asian/Malaysian ingredients from NYC..Beside that I still have some homegrown tomato and brinjal left over my garden ..Furthermore ,my curry plant is really thriving and huge.I would love to take this opportunity to use some of the leaves before moving the plant indoor since the weather is getting cooler especially at night.I'm not looking forward for cold weather ..But do you know what? The best food to eat during cold freezing weather is hot and spicy curry!!

Ingredients:

2 whole tilapia fish,clean and head attached
5-6 tbsp sambal paste
5 tbsp fish curry powder(Baba's or burung Nuri's brand)
1 can coconut milk,400 ml
1 cup whole milk or half and half
4 tbsp tamarind concentrate juice
2 sprig curry leaves
3 tbsp sugar
salt to taste
3 tbsp oil



Vegetables:
1 large eggplant/brinjal,washed and cut 2 inch
4 medium tomato,washed and cut quarter
1/2 lb snack beans/long green bean,washed and cut 2 inch
3 medium onion,peeled and cut cube


Method:

1:Heat medium 5 qtr stock pot or deep skillet at high heat with oil.Add sambal paste ,curry powder and sprig curry leaves,sauteed and mix well with spatula until fragrant.(I preferred to use stock pot when cooking curry bcoz it's won't splatter all over the stove)
2:Add in coconut milk,whole milk,sugar,tamarind juice and salt.When the gravy bubbly boil,add in all the cut vegetables and wait until the gravy bubbly boil again or until all the vegetables cooked..Check the seasoning..(if you need extra spicy,add in more sambal paste)
3:Lastly slowly place the whole fish into the stock pot.Cook the fish for 3-5 minutes or less.Remove stock pot from heat.Dish out and serve wamr with rice,bread or noodle.