How to make a Tamarind Seafood Curry.
Ingredients: Serves 4-6
- 500 g firm white fish such as kingklip, cob or fresh hake
- 800 g calamari rings
- 240 g shrimp
- 4 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 200 ml tamarind water (dissolve the pulp surrounding one tamarind seed in cold water, discarding the seed)
- 1 x 400 g can of chopped tomatoes
- 500 ml fish stock
- 8 cardamom pods
- 2 green chillies, finely sliced
- 2 Tbsp dried curry leaves
- Basmati rice, cooked with ½ tsp ground turmeric and a little salt until the rice has taken up all the cooking water
- Coriander leaves/dhania for garnish
For the fish masala:
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ground fennel
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 scant tsp chilli powder
- 1 Tbsp ground coriander
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
Method:
- Mix the masala.
- Trim away the skin of the kingklip if there is any.
- Remove any pin bones you can feel with your fingers.
- Cut the kingklip into bite-size chunks.
- Coat the kingklip pieces in the masala.
- Retain the rest of the spice mix to add to the curry.
- Sauté onion and garlic in coconut oil, add tomatoes, fish stock and tamarind pulp mixed with cold water.
- Add the remaining fish masala, cardamom pods, curry leaves and chillies.
- Bring to a simmer and cook gently, uncovered, for about 30 minutes for the flavours to develop and the sauce to reduce and thicken by reduction.
- If the sauce is not of a suitably thick consistency, reduce it for longer.
- Add the chunks of kingklip and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the calamari rings and cook for 3 to 5 minutes more.
- Add the shrimp for 2 more minutes of cooking.
- Meanwhile, make yellow basmati rice and have it ready.
- Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
