Squid Curry with Coconut and Tamarind
Ingredients
- 300-350g Squid Rings
- 25g (25mm or 1" Cube) Tamarind Pulp
- 25ml (2 Tbsp) Boiling Water
- 75g (¾ Cup) Grated Coconut
- 2 (70g Total) Banana Shallots
- 3 Dried Kashmiri Chilli Peppers
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- 3 Tbsp Cooking Oil
- 250ml (1 Cup) Fish Stock
- 18-24 Curry Leaves
- 1 X 10cm Piece of Cassia Bark
- 4 Green Cardamom Pods
- 1 Star Anise
- 200g (7oz) Tin Coconut Milk
- 2 Tsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder
- ½ Tsp Ground Cumin
- ½ Tsp Ground Coriander
- ¼ Tsp Ground Turmeric
- ½ Tsp Salt
- 2 Tsp Dried Fenugreek Leaves
Method
- Place the tamarind in a bowl, pour over the boiling water, give it a rough mash then let it sit for 10 minutes. After the tamarind has soaked pass it through a fine mesh sieve.
- Cut the shallots in half, peel them then cut them into a rough 1 cm (½") dice.
- Crush the garlic cloves with the heel of your hand then peel them.
- Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a wok over a medium-high heat and add the garlic, shallots, dried chillies and grated coconut and cook until the coconut begins to take on some colour, this will take around 3-4 minutes. Then transfer this to a blender.
- Pour the fish stock into the blender and blitz the coconut to a smooth paste.
- Return the wok to a high heat and add another tablespoon of oil add the curry leaves, cassia bark, green cardamom pods and star anise and fry for 30 seconds.
- Add the coconut puree that we created earlier along with the coconut milk and tamarind, then stir to combine everything.
- Heat a second 30 cm or 12" skillet or frying pan (nonstick if possible) over a very high heat and when it is hot add the remaining tablespoon of oil followed by the squid rings and stir fry them for 1 minute.
- Remove the pan from the heat and toss through the chilli powder, cumin, coriander, turmeric and salt and toss to coat, then scrape everything into the coconut sauce and cook over a medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Crush the dried fenugreek leaves between your palms over the wok and cook for a final minute then serve.