John Torode's coconut fish curry

John continues his journey through Sri Lanka. This week he reaches the south coast at Tangalle, where he visits the local fish market and cooks a coconut fish curry on the beach.

Coconut fish curry

Serves: 4 - 6

Ingredients

For the toasted coconut mixture

1¼ tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

100g grated fresh coconut

For the onion mixture

1 onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cm ginger

Salt

For the curry

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, sliced

Small bunch of curry leaves

2 green chillies

1 pandan leaf, roughly chopped

Oil for frying

1 cinnamon stick

¼ tsp mustard seeds

¼ tsp cumin seeds

¼ tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tbsp Sri Lankan curry powder mix

2 large tomatoes, chopped

2 – 3 tsp tamarind paste

600ml vegetable stock

2 tbsp grated fresh or desiccated coconut

750g fresh tuna (or any other firm fleshed fish) cut into large chunks

Red rice, cooked

Chopped fresh coriander

Method

• Dry roast the cumin and fennel seeds over a low heat. Tip onto a plate.

• In the same pan roast the coconut until golden brown and fragrant. Set aside to cool and blend with roasted cumin and fennel seeds.

• Use the same pan to sauté the onion, garlic and ginger and set aside to cool before grinding into a smooth paste

• In a separate pan, sauté the sliced onions, curry leaves, green chillies and pandan leaf until the onion is golden brown

• Meanwhile, heat a little the oil in a pan and fry the cinnamon stick, mustard, cumin and fenugreek seeds over low heat until the seeds pop open and are aromatic

• Take out a good spoonful of these spices and add them to the onions and chilli with a spoonful of the garlic and ginger mixture and then sauté for a minute or so

• Add the Sri Lankan curry spice mix and a pinch of salt, then stir in most of the toasted coconut mixture

• Add chopped tomatoes, fresh coconut, tamarind and vegetable stock and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes

• Drop the tuna cubes into the pan, so they are covered halfway in the sauce. Bring to the boil, the reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked through.

• Add the cooked rice to the tempered spice oil with the remaining roasted coconut mix. Serve with the curry and sprinkle over some chopped fresh coriander.

John's tips

- You can replace the Sri Lanka curry powder with a mixture of 1 tsp red chilli powder, ¾ tsp coriander powder, ¼ tsp turmeric powder and ¼ tsp cumin powder

- Add 2 tbsp tomato puree to your tomatoes if they are not ripe

With thanks to the Anantara resort Tangalle