I wanted to have a good recipe for a seafood curry for a long time. I studied a lot of Internet recipes plus my own recipe for mild chicken curry. I put together a composite of what to me appeared to be the best selection of ingredients and amounts. I then created the directions for putting it all together.
I made the dish and Peggy and I are very pleased. It has a bit of zing without being spicy hot. As is typical, making and eating the curry for the first time was accompanied by analysis of results, both in progress while cooking and later when we ate the curry. The recipe below includes the few changes I made and provides for some optional ingredients and/or variable amounts of essential ingredients where indicated. I like salt so I found that using it at the table enhanced the flavor, which as cooked is slightly sweet and moderately spicy.
We were surprised with the large amount of curry produced using this recipe. It will easily feed eight people, and that means you should double the ingredients for the rice if you are serving a large group of friends or family. We were pleased with the appearance also with the many colors from the vegetables in a creamy base. You will be very pleased too if you decide to make this mild seafood curry.
Note that I recommend serving a chilled Pinot Grigio wine with this dish. We had chilled Smoking Loon® Pinot Grigio and it was excellent. Though I didn't make it this time around, a side salad is a good addition to the meal, perhaps either of the Food Nirvana oriental salads, or the creamy Mediterranean Cucumber salad. They provide taste, texture and color contrasts with the curry and that will be very attractive and enjoyable. Also, see the dessert recommendation near the end of this recipe.
Ingredients: (eight generous servings)
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 tablespoon of minced fresh ginger root
3 tablespoons of lime juice
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 finely diced cleaned (deseeded) jalapeno pepper
1, 13.66 oz. can of Thai® brand unsweetened coconut milk
1 tsp. of Sea Salt
1/2 tsp. of white pepper
1 cup of chopped sweet onion
3 cloves of garlic, diced
2 tbsp. of mild yellow curry powder (use 1 tbsp. for a milder curry)
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (optional)
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
2 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/8th inch thick on the diagonal
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of chopped fresh asparagus
3/4 cup of heavy cream
3/4 cup of frozen peas (let the peas thaw while you are making this recipe)
1/3 cup of diced roasted red sweet peppers
2 cups of uncooked basmati rice (double the rice and liquids if feeding a large group of people)
1 can of chicken broth and one can of water (for cooking the rice)
1 lb. of haddock filet cut into small pieces about 1/2" on a side
1 lb. of sea scallops, halved
1 lb. of shelled crab meat
1 lb. of shelled, cleaned small to medium size shrimp, cut in half if medium in size
3 to 4 tbsp. of cornstarch
1 tsp. of turmeric (optional to create a pale yellow color) or a few drops of yellow food coloring
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large, deep skillet.
Put the onion pieces into the skillet, stir to coat them with oil and cook them on low heat until they are translucent.
Add the diced garlic and diced jalapeno pepper, cilantro and minced ginger, then stir, and cook for one minute.
Stir in the curry powder, cayenne pepper, white pepper, brown sugar, sea salt and cumin, and the optional turmeric if you choose to use it, and cook on very low heat while stirring, until the aromas of the spices are released, about two minutes. I like to pre-measure the spices and put them all in one small container before starting the cooking. That practice makes the cooking very easy.
Stir in the carrot pieces and toss them in the mixture to partially coat them.
Set the skillet aside while you cook the seafood in a separate skillet.
Put the 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth, the lime juice and the coconut milk in a separate skillet and bring the contents to a simmer on high heat.
Add the seafood to the skillet, then bring to a boil and then simmer on low heat, covered, for five minutes, stirring a few times during cooking.
Add the cooked seafood mixture to the skillet containing the sauteed vegetables/spices mixture.
Stir in the chopped asparagus pieces, cover the skillet, heat to a simmer and then simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.
Sprinkle one tbsp. of cornstarch on top of the curry and mix it in completely. Repeat that process for the second and third and possibly fourth tablespoons of cornstarch.
Stir in the cream, the roasted red pepper pieces and the thawed peas. If you decided to use yellow food coloring then add three to five drops to the curry. Stir well, then cover the skillet and heat the curry to a simmer and let the ingredients cook at a simmer for about three to five minutes, stirring twice during the cooking. It is not necessary to bring the curry to a full boil.
Put the completed seafood curry into a large serving bowl or casserole, cover it with plastic wrap and put it into the 200 degrees F warming oven.
Pre-warm the dinner plates or wide shallow individual serving bowls in the warming oven. Also pre-warm a bowl to hold a quart (or two) of cooked rice.
Make the rice using half chicken broth and half water, two cups of each, and 1/4 tsp. of salt. You should double the rice and liquid amounts if you are serving more than four people.
Put the rice into the pre-warmed bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and return it to the warming oven.
Make any side dishes you plan to serve with the meal, like a side salad, and maybe a light dessert. See below.
Serve the seafood curry over the basmati rice on the pre-warmed dinner plates or bowls.
As noted earlier, a good chilled Pinot Grigio wine goes very well with this meal.
Also as noted earlier, a side salad, especially an oriental side salad, is the perfect way to make this meal complete in appearance, tastes and textures.
Maybe you want to serve some red raspberry gelato and some simple sugar cookies for dessert.
Enjoy!