Tamarind Fish Curry

Last Sunday, Calimocho and Squeaky had us over for an awesome Kashmiri meal. We were about to invite them over for tamarind fish curry, but they beat us to it. So we compromised and we went over Sunday (aren't we generous?) and they came for curry on Tuesday.

This salmon curry recipe uses tamarind, the fruit of a tropical tree from Africa. It has a very light and subtle citrus flavour, kind of like lemongrass. I used a tamarind brick for this recipe that I found at an Asian grocery store. You need to break off a piece, let it sit in a bit of hot water, and then press it through a sieve to get the pulp, but leave the fibres and seeds behind. Kind of messy and a bit of a hassle. But Calimocho and Squeaky have recently bought me a jar of tamarind pulp, pre-seived and deseeded - thanks guys!

Tamarind Fish Curry
From Jill Dupleix's Good Cooking: The New Essentials.

700 g skinned salmon fillets
sea salt

1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cm knob ginger, grated

1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 big red chili, chopped

1 Tbsp tamarind concentrate
1 Tbsp tomato puree
400 mL coconut milk
1 tsp sugar
torn coriander leaves as garnish

Cut the salmon into bite-sized chunks and sprinkle with salt. Set aside.

Fry the onion in a bit of oil until soft. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for another minute. Add the spices and the chili, stirring well. Add the tamarind, tomato puree, coconut milk, 200 ml of water, 1/2 tsp salt and the sugar, and heat gently while stirring. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. Taste for tamarind and chili.

Add the fish and simmer for another 5 minutes. Scatter with the coriander and serve with rice.