Paplo - Omani-Balochi Lemon Fish Curry

I’ll preach forever about how the beauty of Omani food is simply because of all the walks of life that settled in Oman and made it home. One popular tribe amongst many is the Balochi tribe originating from Baluchistan made up primarily of Iranian descendants. Their food has influenced much of the capital’s cuisine, especially with this one dish in particular; Paplo (pronounced Bablo).

Paplo for most Omani families has become your classic comfort dish, it’s super easy to pull together, requires minimal ingredients but brings huge amounts of flavour. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been invited to many houses with families who have made this for years, so having tried hundreds, I have found the perfect balance of fish ratio vs acidity and while there will be a few natives who tell me you don’t need the extras of tomato and coriander there will also be some that say you do. But since you are here for my recipe, I’ll give you my favourite version in the hopes you’ll enjoy it too! Lastly, while I call it a curry - purely to simplify things I would say it is more of a soup (so remember that is the consistency you want), but a soup which you pour of rice till it’s swimming in it and then slurp up!

Cooking notes:

• Traditionally in Oman we use King Fish or Tuna for this. If you can source good quality of any of these, use it. Alternatively I use Sword Fish. Sea Bass, Mahi Mahi, Turbo & Sole can also be used.

• Fresh lemon only please! No bottled lemon, the flavour will be ruined if so!

• I suggest 80ml of lemon juice, however if you can handle and want to add more acidity I usually go up to a max of 100ml. But 80ml is just about the perfect amount.

Ingredients:

• 1TBSP Garlic

• 2 Onions (diced small)

• 650g Sword fish (or alternative, chopped into small chunks)

• 1 TBSP Turmeric

• 2 Medium Tomatoes (Quartered)

• Salt to taste

• 80ml Lemon Juice (roughly 2.5 lemons)

• 1.5litres Water

• 1/2 TSP Baharat

• 2 Fresh Green Chillies (roughly chopped)

• Small Bunch of Fresh Coriander (about 30-40g, chopped fine)

Method

1. Add the water, garlic, onions, chilies, tomatoes, baharat and turmeric to pan and place onto boil.

2. Once it begins to bubble add in your fish.

3. Leave the mixture to simmer till the fish is cooked through, then add in salt and the lemon juice.

4. Continue to simmer on a low heat for about 10 minutes, you should notice it slightly evaporate by a couple of centimetres.

5. Before you are ready to eat, add in the coriander, stir through well and then serve.

6. It’s that simple! Don’t forget to drown some white basmati rice with it and enjoy!

You see! I drowned the rice in the Paplo….