Aromatic Seafood Curry

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 star anise
• 5cm cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 1 sprig of curry leaves (or 2 bay leaves)
• 4 raw king prawns – shells and heads on
• 150g mussels, in their shells
• 100-150g squid tubes, scored
• 50ml coconut milk
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ½ tablespoon lime juice

For the paste:

• 2 shallots
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2.5 cm fresh turmeric (or 1 teaspoon ground turmeric)
• 2.5cm ginger
• 5 dried chillies, soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes
• ¾ teaspoon shrimp paste, dry toasted

For the mix spice:

• 1 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds

Method

Blitz the paste ingredients together with a little water if necessary, in a food processor or using a hand blender, then transfer to a bowl. Add the ground spices and mix thoroughly

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over a medium heat and cook the star anise, cinnamon, cloves and curry leaves, until fragrant. Add the paste mix and cook for 2 minutes. Now add the prawns, mussels (discarding any that are open and do not close when tapped) and squid, along with 150ml water. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the prawns turn pink, the mussels open and the squid curls up. Discard any mussels that have not opened.

Add the coconut milk and salt, give it all a good stir and cook for a further minute. Finally add the lime juice, give it another stir and turn the heat off. Transfer to a serving dish and serve straight away.