Fish Ambul Thiyal is a unique dish to Sri Lanka.  The people from south are ones who know how to make Fish Ambul Thiyal perfectly. When others make Ambul Thiyal  it doesn't  get that unique flavor. If you want to taste the real taste you should go to the southern part of the country or someone from there should prepare them. However in this article I am going to tell you how to make fish Ambul Thiyal. We can eat them as a curry with rice & curry or we can eat it with milk rice. Most Sri Lankans add this food item into their alms givings. 

Fish ambulthiyal is actually a blackened fish curry, there are many ways to make them and it depends on how long you are going to keep them. If you want to keep Ambul thiyal for a period of time or if you want to consume your dish right away  the preparation method and the ingredients are slightly different. The real Ambul thiyal is a way of preserving fish without refrigeration or freezing and of course it has an unique sour taste. 

Firm fish like Yellowfin Tuna / Kelawalla, Skipjack Tuna / Balaya, Sailfish / Thalapath are suitable to make Ambul thiyal. The main ingredient used to make Ambul Thiyal other than fish is “Goraka” or Brindleberry. The sourness of the dish is coming from Goraka.  

You should pick a large clay pot to make Ambul Thiyal. Most of the time people spread curry leaves and cinnamon pieces  on the bottom of the pot. Original way is to lay a banana leaf. This is done to prevent fish from charring too much and to avoid fish sticking on to the bottom of the pot.

Let’s see how to cook this distinct Sri Lankan dish. The first recipe I mentioned here is to keep fish for some time, the second recipe is to consume it in a day. 

Recipe 01: 

Ingredients: 

• 1 Kg of Yellowfin Tuna / Skipjack Tuna/ Sailfish
• 10 - 15 of grounded Goraka pieces  
• 3 tbsp of black pepper powder 
• Few pieces of cinnamon sticks 
• 8 - 10 curry leaves 
• Salt as per your taste 
• Water as needed 

Method : 

First clean & cut the fish into cubes/chunks. Then wash the fish cubes/chunk with salt. Clean the fish cubes/chunks well again. Put one tbsp of grounded Goraka and one tablespoon of salt into a small bowl and mix them well. Add the Goraka mixture into the fish bowl and mix them together and leave for half an hour.  Get the large clay pot that you are going to make Ambul Thiyal, and spread the curry leaves and cinnamon stick pieces on the bottom of the pot or  you can lay a Banana leaf instead. Take  grounded Goraka as the size of a lime and mix it with two tablespoons of black pepper powder. You must be careful when you take Goraka, if you add too much of it, your fish will become harder. Then add one tablespoon of salt into it, add a little bit of water and make a Goraka paste.  Marinate fish chunks with the Goraka paste well. Place the fish over the curry leaves and cinnamon stick pieces. Add water and cook slowly in low fire until all the water is gone. Do not mix or use a spoon at any point in the cooking process, if you really want to, hold the pot from both sides and give a little shake.   If you wish to consume your dish right away, a bit of moisture from the curry doesn't have any effect but if you wish to keep the fish for some time you should let it dry well.  Another thing is if you don’t want to keep the fish for some time you can add some other ingredients like garlic. Garlic and moisture in the Ambul Thiyal will lead to mould growth. The recipe for making Ambul Thiyal with garlic & other spices is given below. 

Recipe 2: 

Ingredients : 

• 1 Kg of above mentioned fish 
• 5 -10 Goraka pieces 
• 3 tbsp of black pepper powder 
• 1 tbsp of grated ginger 
• 7 garlic cloves minced 
• 3 cloves 
• 5 cardamom pods slightly bruised 
• 2 inches pandan leaves 
• 8-10 curry leaves 
• 1 tsp of chilli powder 
• ¼ turmeric powder 
• Salt to season 
• Cinnamon stick pieces 
• Water as needed 

Method : 

Cut the fish into chunks. Clean them properly as mentioned in the first recipe.Soak the Goraka pieces for 5 minutes and then grind them into a fine paste. Grind & make paste using garlic, ginger, pepper powder, cloves, some curry leaves (a sprig), pandan leaves, cardamom leaves, red chilli powder and turmeric powder. Combine the goraka paste and spice paste together. Add salt as per your taste. Put the fish chunks into a large bowl and mix with the paste you make before and leave aside for 10 - 15 minutes. Get the large clay pot that you are going to make your Ambul Thiyal and spread curry leaves and cinnamon stick pieces or a banana leaf. You can cut the banana leaf in a way you can lay it on the bottom of the pot. Place the seasoned fish chunks in the pot. If there is leftover marinade in the bowl add it into the pot too. Add water. The water level should cover the fish.  Place the pot over low heat, let it simmer until water evaporates completely Do not mix or use a spoon at any point in the cooking process, if you really want to, hold the pot from both sides and give a little shake.