BIR-style Hot-hot Catfish Curry

Ingredients:

5 tbsp Oil or Ghee (or even better, a blend)
10cm piece of Cassia Bark
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
2 Green Cardamom Pods, split open
60g Finely Chopped Onion
30-40g Red Bell Pepper, sliced
2 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
1 tsp Kasuri Methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
2 tsp Extra Hot Chilli Powder (I used dried and ground habaneros)
2 tsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder
1¼ tsp curry mix powder
1/4 tsp sea Salt
6 tbsp tomato puree
3 tbsp Insanity chilli paste
1 tbsp Chilli Flakes
1-2 tsp Naga chilli pickle
350ml (about) base curry sauce
2 catfish (cooked as for point and kill (pepper soup))
2-3 tsp Onion Paste
2 tsp fresh Lime or Lemon Juice
8-10 Green Chillies, finely sliced into rings
2 tsp Honey
1 tsp Sugar
1 tbsp Natural Yoghurt

For garnish:
2cm piece of ginger, peeled and julienned
coriander leaves and/or flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Method:

Place a wok over medium heat. Once hot, add the ghee and/or oil then add the cassia bark, cumin seeds, and cardamom pods. Fry for 30-45 seconds to infuse the oil, stirring frequently.

At this point add the finely chopped onion and sliced red pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for 1-2 minutes or until the onions just start to colour on the edges.

Now stir in the ginger-garlic paste and fry for 15-25 seconds, or until the sizzling subsides. Add the kasuri methi (dried fenugreek), chilli powders, mix powder, and salt. Pour over 2 tbsp of base gravy to help mix the spices and prevent burning.

Fry for 30-40 seconds, constantly stirring and ensuring flat distribution of the spices in the pan. If the spices show signs of starting to stick to the pan and burning, add a little water or base gravy to loosen things up. It’s very important to cook the spice powders out properly so they release their flavours.

Add the tomato paste, Insanity chilli paste, chilli flakes, and the Naga chilli pickle. Increase the heat to high and cook for 45 seconds, whilst stirring diligently, until the oil separates and tiny craters appear in the surface.

Add the pre-cooked catfish steaks meat and stir gently to coat in the sauce. At this point stir in 5 tbsp of the base gravy, stirring well to combine and cook over high heat (avoiding stirring/scraping unless showing signs of imminent burning) until the sauce has reduced a little, and the craters form once again.

Add a second 5 tbsp of base gravy, stirring and scraping the bottom and sides of the pan as you add the liquid, then allow the sauce to reduce again. Now add all the remaining base gravy along with fresh lime or lemon juice, honey, sugar, finely sliced green chillies, and the onion paste. Stir and scrape once when these ingredients are first added.

Leave the curry to cook over high heat for 4-5 minutes, or until the desired consistency for the gravy is reached. Add a little more base gravy if desired to thin the sauce out as to your preference. Avoid stirring/scraping unless the curry shows signs of starting to burn.

Taste the curry and cook for longer if it's evident that the chilli powders have not cooked out enough. Add more sugar, salt or lemon/lime juice as to your preference.

Just before the end of cooking reduce the heat to low and stir in the natural yoghurt. This will help with appearance or the curry.

At the end of cooking, there should be a lot of excess oil on the surface. Spoon this off from the top of the curry if you want.

To serve, sprinkle the finely chopped coriander leaves and julienned ginger over the top.

Find more BIR recipes on the FabulousFusionFood British Indian Restaurant (BIR) recipes page.