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Ambul Thiyal (Dry Sour Fish with Goraka)

Name: Ambul Thiyal (Dry Sour Fish with Goraka)
Prep time: 1 h 13 min
Total time: 5 h 13 min
Cuisine: Sri Lankan
Ingredients: tuna — 700 g; goraka — 2 g; black peppercorns — 10 g; dark-roasted sri lankan curry powder — 5 g; turmeric — 5 g; garlic — 15 g; fresh ginger — 15 g; ceylon cinnamon; curry leaves — 2 g; lemongrass — 40 g; pandan leaf; salt — 7 g; water — 150 g; coconut oil — 14 g

Ambul Thiyal (Dry Sour Fish with Goraka) reads allium 4.9, umami 4.8 and richness 4.5 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Sri Lankan main, about 5 hr 13 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 5.6 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 1.4 / 10
Sour & Bright — 4.4 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 2.0 / 10
Rich & Fat — 5.1 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 5.6 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Allium 4.9 · Umami 4.8 · Richness 4.5 · Salinity 4.1 · Marine & Briny 4.0 · Citrus 3.8 · Herbaceous 2.8 · Warm Spice 2.8 · Sourness 2.2 · Nutty 1.9 · Earthy 1.8 · Floral 1.6 · Bitterness 1.3 · Sweetness 1.2 · Heat 1.2 · Smoke 0.6 · Fruity 0.6

What's in it (14)

tuna — 700 g
goraka — 2 g
black peppercorns — 10 g
dark-roasted sri lankan curry powder — 5 g
turmeric — 5 g
garlic — 15 g
fresh ginger — 15 g
ceylon cinnamon
curry leaves — 2 g
lemongrass — 40 g
pandan leaf
salt — 7 g
water — 150 g
coconut oil — 14 g

Time & effort: about 5 hr 13 min (1 hr 13 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 124.8 kcal, 17.2 g protein, 5 g fat, 1.7 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

Soak the goraka in warm water for 30 minutes until the black rinds soften, then grind them with their soaking liquid to a dark, tarry paste. Goraka is the same species as the kudampuli of Kerala, Garcinia gummi-gutta, and it does two jobs here: it sours the dish and it preserves it, which is why ambul thiyal keeps for days without refrigeration in a hot climate.
Toss the fish cubes with the goraka paste, the ground pepper, curry powder, turmeric, crushed garlic, ginger and salt until every piece is coated black-brown. Note there is no coconut milk anywhere in this dish; the whole southern coast cooks with coconut milk except here, and the absence is the point.
Arrange the fish in a single layer in a clay pot with the cinnamon, curry leaves, lemongrass and pandan tucked between the pieces.
Pour the water down the side of the pot rather than over the fish, cover and simmer very gently for 20 minutes, shaking the pot occasionally but never stirring, which would break the fish.
Uncover and cook a further 10 to 15 minutes, until almost all the liquid has gone and what is left is a thick black glaze clinging to the cubes.
Spoon over the coconut oil, take off the heat and leave to stand at least 4 hours before eating. It is better the next day and better again the day after, served at room temperature with rice.
Substitutions: seer fish can stand in for the tuna.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Bouillabaisse — French
Fiesta Baked Salmon — Fusion
Coconut Shrimp Curry — Indian
Spicy Shrimp and Chorizo Tacos — Mexican
Mustard Seed Coconut Shrimp Curry — Indian

Keep reading: what allium, umami, richness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.