Fish Curry

The first thing I did when I got back from my holiday yesterday afternoon was head straight to my local Morrisons to see what interesting things they had in their fish and meat aisles. Kind of depressed after visiting France and being blown away by the sheer variety and quality of produce they have I felt I really needed to redress the balance and remember what our humble supermarkets had to offer.

I wasn't disappointed! Ok, so there was no bread, pates, cheeses or meats anywhere near the quality I'd had over the channel. And the prices were higher. But I found 2 whole red gurnards for £1 each! Fresh curry leaves for just over 50p and, after a visit to the little greengrocer on my road, okra, runner beans, beautiful shiny aubergines, vine tomatoes and fresh chillies. I knew what I wanted to cook.

Ever since seeing a recent Anthony Bourdain show on Penang, where he ate a bubbling fish dish in a claypot I've been craving something similar. This is what I ended up making.

Serves 2

2 whole red gurnards, cleaned and gutted

half can coconut milk

3 cups boiling water

1 White onion, chopped

1 Inch ginger, peeled and diced finely

6 Baby vine tomatoes, halved

5 Runner beans, chopped in half, then half again

1 Aubergine, chopped
2 Red chillies, seeded and halved

7 Okra, chopped

Vegetable Oil

2 Star anise

1 tsp Fenugreek

Around 7 fresh curry leaves

2 tsp Turmeric

3 tsp Cumin

Dried chilli powder

2 tbsp Tamarind Pulp

Prepare the vegetables before starting. Then, heat a generous splash of vegetable oil in a heavy bottom pan and add the star anise and fenugreek. Fry until fragrant, around 2 minutes. Add the chopped white onion, the ginger and the curry leaves and fry for another 5 or so minutes, until the onion is soft. Then, add the turmeric, cumin and as much chilli powder as you would like. Stir to combine. Mix the tamarind pulp with the 3 cups of water and stir until dissolved. Add to the pan. Allow to simmer for around 10 minutes. Fry off the aubergine in a tiny bit of oil in a frying pan. Then add the aubergine, the red chillies and the tomatoes to the curry. Add the coconut milk and stir. Add the gurnards, making sure they are completely covered by liquid. Cook for around 10 minutes, simmering with a lid. Then add the okra and the runner beans and cook until the fish is done (around 5 minutes more). Serve with rice.