Tentacles and All

Squid curry

This is what squid looks like before it is cleaned

The ingredients for the curry

Squid curry on brown rice with sides of curried mashed eggplant, yogurt and papadums

Ah squid, you either love it or hate it! The thing to remember about cooking squid is that it takes either a very short time or a very long time to cook – cook it for just 5 minutes until tender or stew it for an hour, but nothing in between. If you don’t like squid then replace with either shrimp (in the shell or not) or blue crabs, they are equally delicious cooked in the curry sauce.

SQUID CURRY

Serves 4

1 pound squid, cleaned and cut into ½” rings

2 shallots, sliced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

1” ginger peeled and finely julienned

6 curry leaves

1 stalk lemongrass, crushed

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp fenugreek/methi seeds

1 heaped tbsp fish curry powder

1 tomato, diced

½ cup water

½ tbsp lemon/lime juice/tamarind pulp

¼ cup coconut milk/milk

½ tbsp salt

1 tbsp oil

• Heat oil, fry shallots until lightly brown then add in the garlic, ginger, lemongrass, curry leaves, mustard seeds, cumin and fenugreek; continue frying for 2 minutes.
• Add curry powder, stir for 30 seconds then add tomatoes, water, lemon juice and salt. When this comes to a boil add in the squid and cook for about 5 minutes or until just cooked.
• Lastly add in the coconut milk/milk, cook for about 1 more minute.

Dry Chili Chicken

Chicken Varuval

From left, top to bottom: cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, 
cloves, dried red chili, cumin seeds, fennel seeds
ground black pepper, ground coriander, curry leaves
chili powder, turmeric

The parboiled chicken

Golden brown onions

The cuisine of south India is quite predominant in Malaysia and one of my favorite dishes is the Chicken Varuval or Chettinad Chicken which is a dry curry. I usually make it with chicken breast because Keith doesn’t like eating chicken on the bone. However, cooking it with chicken pieces on the bone actually results in a much tastier dish. Over the years I have adapted the recipe from the original that was given to me when I first started working more than 17 years ago by a colleague who used to make it with mutton. I also learnt from one of my former staff members whose family owned an Indian restaurant that they parboil the chicken to speed up the cooking process. This is a very popular recipe in Southern Indian restaurants and I’m sure you’ll like it once you’ve tried it. It is really good as part of a rice meal or eaten with chappati.


CHICKEN VARUVAL
Serves 8

5 pounds chicken (chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes or 1 whole chicken, chopped into small pieces)
½ cup oil
3 onions, cut in half then thinly sliced
1½ bulb garlic
4" ginger
2 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
8 cloves
8 cardamom pods
2 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp fennel seeds
8 dried red chili
10 curry leaves
4 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp ground black pepper
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp sugar
Salt to taste
Juice from 1 lime

• In a large pot, cover chicken with water, add ½ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp chili powder and ½ tbsp salt. Bring to a boil, cover and lower the heat to a simmer, cook chicken for 30 minutes until tender. Drain and set aside.
• Blend garlic and ginger with ½ cup water.
• Heat oil, fry the sliced onions until golden brown (about 20 minutes), then add the cinnamon, star anise, cloves, cardamom, cumin seed, fennel seeds, dried chili and curry leaves and fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.
• Add the garlic-ginger paste and cook another minute
• Add the chicken, stir until well coated with the spices. Lower heat and add in the chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric, ground black pepper, sugar and salt to taste and fry for 10 minutes or until chicken is tender. 
• Lastly add in the lime juice, mix well.

Fish Curry

Roti canai with fish curry

When my cousin and her family visit from LA, it is almost a must that the Indian bread paratha or “roti canai” as it is called in Malaysia served with fish curry will be on the menu for breakfast or lunch. This may seem a little unusual to Westerners who are more used to their cereal and milk, or pancakes etc, but for Malaysians who are used to eating coconut rice with “ikan bilis sambal”, or curry noodles, or savory glutinous rice, this is just another normal breakfast.

FISH CURRY
Serves 6 - 8

1 pound white fish, cut into 2” pieces
3 shallots, sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1” ginger peeled and finely julienned
1 green chili, deseeded and sliced lengthwise
10 curry leaves
½ tbsp black mustard seeds
½ tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fenugreek/methi seeds
4 – 6 tbsp fish curry powder
2 cups (about 20) okra/ladies fingers
1 Japanese eggplant, cut into 2” sticks
2 tomatoes, cut into about 6 wedges
1 tbsp tamarind seeds mixed with 1½ cup warm water, soaked and strained
1 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp oil

• Heat oil, fry shallots until lightly brown then add in the garlic, ginger, green chili, curry leaves, mustard seeds, cumin and fenugreek; continue frying for 2 minutes.
• Add curry powder, stir for 30 seconds then add tamarind juice and salt. When this comes to a boil add in the eggplant cook for about 2 minutes then add in the okra and tomatoes, cook for another 2 minutes.
• Lastly add in the fish and coconut milk, cook for about 5 minutes or until fish is cooked through.

Take A Can Of Tuna....

Take a can of tuna, add some chopped celery, minced shallot, a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise, a dash of vinegar, salt and black pepper to taste. Mix it all up and you have a delicious lunch! Oh alright, I‘ll write out the actual recipe!

But you get the idea right? What could be easier than taking a can of tuna and making it into something very tasty and nutritious in all of 5 minutes? When I was expecting Little Miss M and hungry all the time canned tuna was a such a savior because I could use it to make tuna salad, add it to fried rice or just eat it out of the can! I’ve used it to make “serunding” which is a spicy Malay floss that goes well with bread or rice and I remember my mother would add it to pasta sauce which was another tasty use. So go ahead, take a can of tuna….

SIMPLE SKINNY TUNA SALAD
Serves 4

1 can tuna, drained
¼ cup chopped celery/green apple
1 tbsp finely minced shallot
2 – 3 tbsp plain low-fat yogurt
1 – 2 tbsp low fat mayonnaise
1 tsp vinegar (any type you like) or lemon juice
Salt and black pepper to taste

• Gently mix all ingredients together, taste and add more vegetables or seasoning as desired.
• Add other ingredients if desired: chopped pickles, chopped red chili, chopped hard-boiled egg etc
• Serve on bread, rolls, pita, crackers or just with salad greens