GUYANA HASSA CURRY
Coming from a Guyanese background, I love all of my traditional curries. Everything from chicken, duck, goat, mutton to all the delicious seafoods. I remembered Hassa Curry wasn’t a dish we ate very often in Canada and that was because it wasn’t your typical fish that you can find at the supermarket. My parents used to buy it from the West Indian store in Toronto and honestly it wasn’t the best. My mom could tell when it’s fresh or not just from looking at the package.They would take a gamble with some and at times would have to toss it just because it was spoiled. They eventually stopped buying it. The only time they would get to eat Hassa is when they take a trip to the homeland.
It wasn’t until recently that my parents found some Hassas while browsing the Asian supermarket. Yup, you heard right. The package even says ” Guyana Hassa”. They decided to take a chance and bought a few packs. Boy was my mom and dad happy when after cooking it, they said it was delicious and fresh. I knew I had to document my mom cooking this beautiful dish. Dad said this is a popular and delicious dish especially when paired with some spinach (Callaloo) and that is how they usually make it.
When cooked, the armor on top comes off easily just by using your fingers to slide the shell from the tail to the head. Underneath is where you’ll find the delicious flesh and honestly you will either love it or hate it. It’s just one of those things.
Fun Fact: This is a rare member of the catfish family, known in Guyana and Brazil as Hassar and as Cascadura in Trinidad and Tobago.
Whatever the name is to you, Let’s make some good old Hassa curry featuring my mom.
Guyana Hassa Curry
Here is how we make Hassa Curry (Guyanese style)
Ingredients
- 1 pack Guyana Hassa - A pack usually have about 6 Hassas.
- 1 Lemon/Lime Cut the lemon and squeeze it all over the fish to give it a good clean.
- 1 Onion
- 1 Tomatoe
- 1 Green Mango
- 2 Cloves of Garlic
- 2 Wiri Wiri peppers You can use whatever you have
- Tamarind This is optional as it add flavour.
- Masala My mom made her own masala which consisted of different spices (black pepper, cumin etc)
- 3 tbsp Vegetable Oil
Instructions
- Start by washing the Hassa with Lemon or Lime juice.
- On a cutting board, dice and chop your onions, garlic, mangoes, tomatoes and peppers.
- Heat your oil in a pan on the stove.
- Add your onions to the hot oil and let it cook for a minute. Then add your masala and curry powder. Let it cook for 5 minutes before adding your chopped tomatoes. You can add your salt at this time or leave for when you add your fish in.
- Add your Hassa to the mixture. Mix Mix Mix. Add the mangoes and peppers at this time. Leave the Hassa to bunjal for a few minutes with no lid on the pan.
- Add water to the Hassa and let cook for 12 minutes or until you feel that it is just right. Remember, Hassas do not need to cook for very long time.
