Читать книгу Rachel’s Food for Living - Rachel Allen - Страница 11

This is an absolutely divine Bengalese recipe, given to me by a friend, Arun Kapil, who imports spices from his family in India. Seafood is central to the region’s cuisine – every day the locals catch the freshest fish and the plumpest prawns in the Bay of Bengal and typically combine them with tamarind, mild spices and coconut, according to traditional family recipes. Here, Arun has devised this deliciously simple recipe combining prawns, creamy coconut milk, exotic tamarind and an Indian spice blend, panch puran.

SERVES 4

FOR THE PANCH PURAN

1 tsp brown mustard seeds

1 tsp whole nigella seeds

1 tsp ground fenugreek seeds

1 tsp ground fennel seeds

1 tsp ground cumin seeds

2 tsp turmeric powder

1 level tsp salt

FOR SPICED BANANA RAITA

400ml (14fl oz) natural yoghurt

½–1 tbsp Garam Masala spice

2 good handfuls of raisins (optional), soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes, then drained

2 tbsp freshly chopped mint

1 banana, very thinly sliced

Juice and zest of ½ lime

FOR THE COCONUT PRAWNS

4 tsp mustard oil (or sunflower or corn oil)

1kg (2lb 4oz) peeled tiger prawns

1 tbsp butter, clarified butter or vegetable oil

1 heaped tbsp gram flour (or 1 tbsp of plain flour)

1 x 400ml tin coconut milk

1 generous tbsp tamarind paste mixed with 2 tbsp hot water till mushy, then pushed through a sieve to get rid of the stones

1 chilli, deseeded and diced

450ml (16fl oz) fish stock or water

Salt, to taste

Handful of fresh coriander, chopped

1 To make the panch puran spice blend, mix together all of the ingredients in a small bowl.

2 Then, in a medium-sized bowl, mix the mustard oil and 1 teaspoon of the spice blend. Add the tiger prawns, mix well and set aside for 30 minutes.

3 Make the raita by mixing the ingredients in a medium bowl. Add seasoning to taste and keep to one side.

4 In a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan or wok, heat the clarified butter or oil to smoking point and add the rest of the dry spice blend. Reduce the heat and toast for 10–15 seconds, constantly stirring. Add the flour and stir or whisk until smooth (this should only take about 2 minutes). Don’t worry how it looks at this stage – you’re making a kind of roux and it’s supposed to be a dry(ish) paste.

5 Add the coconut milk, tamarind paste, diced chilli and a good pinch of salt, and keep stirring or whisking until it’s smooth (another couple of minutes). Add the water or fish stock bit by bit until it’s the thickness of double cream.

6 Add the prawns, turn up the heat and bring rapidly to the boil. Turn the heat back down and simmer for only 1 minute until the prawns are just cooked; any longer and they become rubbery.

7 Turn off the heat, add the coriander and a squeeze of lime juice and season to taste. Serve immediately with plenty of basmati rice and the raita.

Rache’s handy tips

You can buy panch puran ready-made from many Asian shops or big supermarkets if you’re short on time. You can also serve this with the Yoghurt and Cucumber Raita on page 119; use half the quantity.