MasterChef Recipe: How to make Goan Fish Curry

Missing Goa? Here's how you can you feel close to this exotic location. 

Photograph: Kind Courtesy Masterchef Australia Jarrod Trigg/Facebook

You might have had this dish in Goa.

But you need to try Chef Jarrod Trigg's recipe.

It is a perfect balance of tangy and spicy!

Here's the recipe.

Goan Fish Curry

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 to 4 dried red chillies to taste
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 50 gm ghee
• 1/2 onion (finely chopped)
• 20 gm fresh ginger (peeled and finely grated)
• 20 gm fresh turmeric (peeled and finely grated)
• 3 cloves garlic (finely grated)
• 1 tomato (roughly chopped)
• 3 tbsp tamarind paste
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 400 ml coconut cream
• 200 ml fish stock
• 2 long green chillies (sliced lengthways)
• 600 gm boneless trevally, skin on
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 10 fresh curry leaves
• 2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• Salt to taste

For flatbread

• 250 ml water
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup rice flour
• Ghee for spreading

For garnishing

• Coriander leaves
• Fresh coconut (shaved)

Method

• Preheat oven to 180 degree Celcius. Place two baking trays in the oven.
• Make the spice mix with coriander seeds, cumin seeds, dried chillis and garam masala in a frying pan.
• Dry roast until fragrant. Remove from heat.
• Remove the chillis from the pan. Soak them in hot water until soft for about 10 minutes.
• Place the roasted spices and soaked chillis in a mortar and pestle and crush to a paste. Set aside.
• Put ghee in a saucepan and set over medium heat.
• Add onion, ginger, turmeric and garlic and cook until tender.
• Add three fourth of the spice mix and stir until fragrant.
• Add tomato, tamarind paste and caster sugar. Cook until the liquid evaporates and everything has broken down.
• Add coconut cream, fish stock and green chilli. Season to taste. Leave to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove trevally skin from fillets and reserve. Cut fillets into 4 cm pieces. Set aside.
• Remove trays from oven. Lay the skin flat on a piece of baking paper and place on the hot, upside down baking tray.
• Rub skin with remaining spice mix. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
• Cover with baking paper. Place the other hot baking tray on top of the skin.
• Weigh it down with something heavy and oven proof. Place in the oven to roast until crispy for around 25 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
• Bring water, oil and salt to a boil in a small saucepan.
• Once it starts to boil, decrease heat.
• Add rice flour and stir until combined. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl to cool.
• Once dough is cool, break dough into small golf ball sized pieces.
• Use extra rice flour for dusting. Roll out balls to 2 mm thick.
• Place a frying pan over high heat. Once hot, decrease heat to medium.
• Place flatbread pieces on the pan and allow to cook until golden for about two minutes on each side.
• Spread a small amount of ghee over the bread to ensure it does not dry out.
• Set it aside wrapped in a tea towel to keep warm. Repeat with remaining flat bread dough.
• Add the reserved trevally to the curry and allow to simmer gently until just cooked for two to three minutes. Season.
• While the fish is cooking, place vegetable oil in pan over medium heat.
• Fry curry leaves and mustard seeds until fragrant. Remove with slotted spoon and add half to curry and reserve half for serving.

To serve

• Divide curry between bowls.
• Break skin into pieces and add to the bowls.
• Sprinkle over fried curry leaves and mustard seeds. Garnish with fresh coriander and coconut.
• Serve with flatbread.

MasterChef Australia Season 8 airs at 9 pm, Monday to Friday on Star World and Star World HD in India.

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