Seafood Curry

Seafood curry is a hot and spicy dish, popular in the coastal regions of Indian subcontinent The dish can be prepared with either a single variety of seafood or an assorted mix of lobsters, shrimps, crabs, oysters and mussels. The Indian curries usually make use of the crabs or other crustaceans, like shrimps and prawns, with several varieties of sea fishes being included in this genre as well.

The seafood curry is also extremely popular in the Far East, particularly in the countries of Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. The Americans and Canadians enjoy the curry as well, which is also consumed as salads or soups, apart from as the traditional course. The fiery curries are extremely popular in the Caribbean islands and the residents make use of fresh, local ingredients including various herbs to enrich the dish.

The Indian curries almost always use coconut and hot chili peppers to produce the distinctive taste and flavor, whereas the Western counterparts are milder and make use of lime juice instead of tamarind extracts.  

Overview of Seafood Curry Recipes

The basic method of cooking the curry involves cleaning the seafood properly and lightly sautéing them in hot oil before keeping them aside. Onions are browned thereafter along with roasting of cumin and mustard seeds. Garlic paste, along with tamarind extract is added to the ingredients at this stage. Cumin and coriander powder are added together with turmeric and chili powder after the tamarind extract is allowed to cook for five minutes. The sautéed seafood is then immersed into the simmering curry which is increased in quantity by adding water. The curry continues to cook until the seafood becomes tender when it is removed from heat and served with hot rice after adding a garnish of cilantro leaves.

Coconuts are usually used in Goa while curry leaves are used to flavor the curry in the Southern States of India and Sri Lanka.

Popular Variations of Seafood Curry Recipes

 There are several variations of the curry which vary from each other substantially. The most popular seafood curries include:-
 

• Thai Seafood Curry- Assorted seafood varieties cooked with Thai green curry paste and pineapple chunks immersed in coconut milk.
   
• Gulai Sotong- This is a traditional Malayan dish cooked with squid and curry spices along with unsweetened coconut milk.
   
• Curried Seafood Salad- Considered to be an International dish, it is prepared with shrimps, scallops, crab meat and oysters mixed together with lemon juice, mild curry powder and mayonnaise. It is served on a bed of Romaine lettuce and is topped with mango chutney.
   
• Curried Chowder- A broth, prepared with shrimps and scallops, cooked together with Thai coconut curry chicken and vegetable broth. Red potatoes and sweet corn are also added to the chowder which is served with a dash of chipotle sauce.

Trivia

Cari Ourite is a special kind of seafood curry that is prepared with octopus.