Sour Fish Curry

It's no secret that I love curry - usually the creamier (and naughtier) the better! But when the weather is hot, I tend to find that too much cream can make me feel a bit queasy and sickly so this fish curry is light and fragrant thanks to coconut milk with a punch of sourness from the tamarind puree. However, if you have kids or a husband who are a bit fussy, then only use half of the tamarind puree.



Sour Fish Curry
Serves 4

3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 brown onions, halved then finely sliced
2-3 chillies (any colour), finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
5cm piece of ginger, grated
1 tspn black mustard seeds
1/2 tspn fenugreek seeds
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tspn ground turmeric
400mL coconut milk
5 roma tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp tamarind puree
4 firm fish fillets (I tend to use John dory or local Pilbara blue spot emperor)
Small bunch of coriander leaves (optional)

Heat the oil in a large pan and gently fry the onions until they begin to turn translucent. Add in the chilli, garlic, ginger and mustard seeds and fry until you can hear the seeds begin to pop. Add the fenugreek seeds, ground coriander and turmeric. Stir the mixture well and fry for another 2 minutes. (If the spice mixture begins to look very dry, feel free to add a touch more oil.)

Add the coconut milk, tomatoes and tamarind puree. Bring the sauce to a rapid simmer for 4-5 minutes then turn the heat down to medium, add in the fish fillets and poach them for 3 minutes. Turn them, then leave them for another 3 minutes or until the fish is cooked through. Season the curry well with salt and add the coriander if you're using it. Serve over steamed basmati rice.

Note: This curry would also work well with prawns.

Fragrant Fish Curry

This is a fish curry that I created. I wanted a really fragrant curry based on my Goan beef curry recipe that used plenty of cinnamon (combined with a few other things) in a coconut milk sauce.



Fragrant Fish Curry
(Serves 4)

4 tbsp vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 fat red chilli, finely sliced
1/2 tspn ground cinnamon
1/2 tspn ground cloves
1/4 tspn ground turmeric
1/4 tspn salt
1/8 tspn ground black pepper
4 tspn tamarind paste
600g firm white fish fillets, cut into large pieces
1 cup (250mL) coconut milk
3 tbsp chopped coriander

In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil with the garlic, chilli, spices, salt, pepper and tamarind paste. Smear this paste over the fish fillets.

Heat the remaining oil in a large non-stick pan and fry the fish until almost cooked through. Stir in the coconut milk and then let the curry simmer for 5 minutes or until the fish is cooked. Stir in the chopped coriander then serve the curry over steamed basmati rice.

Malaysian Lamb Curry

This is my take on a Malaysian lamb curry. I must admit (a little shamefully), I know very little about Malay food. I know the country has a large population of people with Chinese and Indian heritage and the food reflects this mixture of cultures.

This curry is a simplified and modified version of a very traditional but highly complicated recipe a friend's mother gave to me years ago.



Malaysian Lamb Curry
(Serves 4)

Vegetable oil
1 onion, finely diced
800g lamb, diced
5 cloves garlic, crushed
5cm piece of ginger, grated
2 large red chilli's, sliced
1 tbsp mustard seeds, toasted
2 tspn garam masala
2 tspn curry powder
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
1 tin crushed tomatoes
1 tin coconut milk
2 cups vegetable stock
1/4 tspn salt

In a heavy based saucepan, heat the oil then saute the onion until it is soft. Add the lamb and brown it then add the garlic, ginger and chilli and saute for one minute. Add the mustard seeds, garam masala, curry powder, bay leaves and cinnamon stick and toast for another minute.

Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, stock and salt and stir the curry well. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat, partially cover the saucepan and simmer for 90 minutes, adding more stock if the curry becomes too thick.

Serve over steamed basmati rice with a dollop of fresh yoghurt on top.

Lamb Madras

Madras curry is one of the most popular curries to order at the local Indian restaurant. The curry originated in Madras which is now called Chennai. The sauce is a traditionally hot curry, using a large amount of fresh chilli's or chilli powder, and has a balance of sweet spices and sour tamarind.



Lamb Madras
(Serves 4)

850g diced lamb
2 tspn ground turmeric
1 tspn fennel seeds
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 large onions, finely sliced
2 tbsp ground coriander
2 tspn ground cumin
1 tspn garam masala
1/4 - 1 tspn chilli powder*
1/2 tspn sweet paprika
5 garlic cloves, crushed
5cm piece of ginger, grated
500mL coconut cream
8cm cinnamon stick
2 star anise
1 tbsp tamarind puree

* Add as much or as little as you like, depending on how hot you like your curry!

Massage the turmeric into the diced lamb. This will tenderise the meat. Put it in a bowl, cover with cling wrap then put it in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

Dry roast the fennel seeds in a hot, dry pan. When they begin to pop, remove them and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the onion for 5-10 minutes until it has softened. Add the ground spices, garlic and ginger and cook for a minute until aromatic. Add the meat and toss well to coat it with the spices. Brown the meat then stir in the coconut cream, bring to the boil, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer.

Add the fennel seeds, cinnamon stick and star anise. Season well with salt then cover and simmer the curry for 1 hour, stirring occassionally. If the curry begins to look too dry towards the end of the cooking time, add a bit of water so it remains quite saucy and liquid.

Dissolve the tamarind in 1/3 cup of boiling water then add to the curry. Stir it in well and taste for seasoning.

Serve the curry over steamed basmati rice.

Goan Beef Curry

Goa is India's smallest state, located along the western coast. The main ingredients used to flavour the local dishes are chilli's, spices, coconut products (shaved, oil, milk, etc.) and vinegar. While fish and rice are generally considered the diet staples, I've used beef in this recipe.



Goan Beef Curry
(Serves 4)

1 tspn fennel seeds
6 cloves
1/2 tspn fenugreek seeds
1 dried chilli
3 tspn ground coriander
3 tspn ground cumin
1/2 tspn ground black pepper
1/2 tspn ground cardamom
1 tspn ground cinnamon
1/2 tspn white vinegar
800g diced beef
1 tspn ground turmeric
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, crushed
5cm piece of ginger, grated
375mL coconut milk

In a mortar and pestle, bash the fennel seeds, cloves, fenugreek seeds and the dried chilli to create a fine powder. Mix this with the coriander, cumin, pepper, cardamom and cinnamon, then mix the spices with the white vinegar to form a dry paste.

Sprinkle the turmeric over the beef and rub it in.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy based pot or pan and gently fry the onion over medium heat until it begins to brown. Then add the garlic and ginger. Let it sizzle for a minute to take away the rawness and infuse the onion, then add the beef and brown it (that means cook it until the outside just begins to brown, it shouldn't be cooked all the way through.) Season with salt to taste.

Add the coconut milk and bring the curry to a boil then cover, reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer for 45 minutes. (If the curry is still quite liquid, simmer with the lid off the pan until it has dried out. If it begins to look too dry whilst cooking, add a small amount of water and stir it into the curry well.)

Serve the curry on top of a mound of freshly steamed basmati rice.