Quick barramundi curry with pol sambol

Don't be put off by the long ingredient list for this curry – it's mostly cupboard staples like ground coriander, cumin and mustard seeds – which infuse the dish with enchanting aromatics. Pol sambol, a fresh Sri Lankan condiment of coconut, lime and chilli powder – adds a finishing layer of flavour.

• serves

  4

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

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Ingredients

• 60 ml (¼ cup) vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 star anise
• 6 cardamom pods
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 15 - 20 fresh curry leaves
• 2 large green chillies, thickly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 cm piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 brown onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 150 ml coconut cream
• 600 g skinless barramundi fillets, cut into 5 cm pieces
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 2 limes, juiced
• steamed rice, to serve

Pol sambol

• 1 Asian red shallot, finely chopped
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt, to season
• 1 tbsp coconut cream
• 90 g (1 cup) fine desiccated coconut
• 2 tsp chilli powder
• 1 lime, juiced

Instructions

1. For the pol sambol, place all the ingredients in a mortar and pestle and grind to a coarse but moist sambol.
2. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add the vegetable oil, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, star anise, cardamom pods and cinnamon. Fry for about 1 minute or just until the mustard seeds start to pop, then add the curry leaves and stir for 30 seconds. Add the chillies, garlic, ginger and onion and fry for about 4 minutes or until fragrant and the onion starts to brown.
3. Stir in the remaining spices, then add the coconut cream and 250 ml (1 cup) water. Bring to a simmer and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the barramundi, salt and tomatoes and simmer for a further 5 minutes or until the barramundi is just cooked through. Stir through the lime juice and serve with rice and the pol sambol.

 

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

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