If you're locked into lamb, chicken and, at your most exotic, a king prawn curry, you're missing out on a world of potential. In fact, the distinctive flavours in seafood make the perfect accompaniment to a rich, spicy sauce. This one, from Strip Bar & Steak in Barbican, makes use of lobster, with a signature Goan spice mix that you can make once and use for months. See the recipe below.
Think outside the box with this Goan lobster curry
If you're locked into lamb, chicken and, at your most exotic, a king prawn curry, you're missing out on a world of potential
Serves 4
Preparation time 15 mins
Cooking time 30 mins
Ingredients
For the spice mix:
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp cloves
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 200g red chillies (deseeded and roughly chopped)
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 bulb garlic (peeled and roughly chopped)
- 2 tbsp light Muscovado sugar
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste
- 100g root ginger (peeled and roughly chopped)
- 100ml red wine vinegar
For the curry:
- 500g lobster meat or one live lobster
- Coconut milk
- Double cream
For the garnish
- Desiccated coconut (baked until golden brown)
- Black poppy seeds (toasted in a warm pan)
- Coriander leaves
Method
- You can find lobster meat or cooked whole lobsters in a lot of supermarkets these days, but if you're lucky enough to find live lobsters, cook them in a court bouillon. Bring it to the boil and cook the lobster for 6-7 minutes per 500g. When it's cooked, plunge it in iced water to stop it cooking further.
- Grind all the dry spices to a powder.
- Transfer to a blender and blitz in the rest of the ingredients to form a paste.
- Add touch of oil to pan and add the spice mix (1 tbsp to taste per person, or a little more if you like it hotter).
- Add some oil and the coconut milk, and warm the cooked lobster meat through. Finish with a touch of double cream.
- Garnish with some toasted desiccated coconut and toasted black poppy seeds, and top with some sprigs of coriander leaves. Serve with some lime wedges and fragrant basmati rice.
