Seafood
Curry Cascadoo

I enjoy Curry Cascadoo, I love to suck on the bones which are so juicy when the fish is well seasoned. Once cooked, the outer shell literally slides off the fish to reveal a firm tan-coloured flesh. My mother knows that this is my favorite dish so each time I travel to my home country, Trinidad, she would prepare it for me. Of course I would have a feast with Curry Cascadoo. Cascadoo is also known as Cascadura and in Guyana it is called Hassa.

A mud-dwelling fish much prized in Trinidad and Guyana. This fish with its own protective armour of two rows of bony plate-like scales is found in fresh water swamps during the dry season. The eyes are not well developed because they are not of much use in the dark murky waters where the fish lives.

Cascadoo can be purchased in the grocery store or at the market. From my personal experience, I found that the cascadoo is sold cheaper when purchased at the grocery store. In addition they are already cleaned.

Method
Remove the cascadoo from the packet. Eventhough they are cleaned, use a brush of some sort to clean the outside of the fish. The belly would have already been cut and the insides removed. After all the fish has been cleaned blend, place in a bowl of water and squeez half of a lime into the water.

Peel and cut the onion in half, peel the garlic, cut each pimento into two and remove the seeds. Cut the chive sticks into two. Place these herbs into the blender. Add the chadon bennie and thyme and blend all the herbs tobether. Add a little salt to the blended herbs.

Remove the cascadoo from the lime water. Put about one tablespoon of the blended herbs into the incision of each cascadoo. After each Cascadoo has been stuffed, they can be packed and placed in a freezer to be cooked at a later date if desired.

Put a sauce pan on the stove to hot and add a tablespoon of olive oil to hot, add two garlic cloves to fry a bit. In a small bowl, add the curry powder to about 1 cup of water and mix well. Add the curry water to the hot oil and allow to simmer for about three minutes. Add the cascadoo and mix in with the curry. After about three minutes add the coconut milk. Cover the pot and allow the cascadoo to cook. After about 20 minutes tast the sauce and add salt and pepper if necessary. At this point about half a cup of water can be added. Turn off the stove after ten minutes.

Step By Pictures