Heat a dry frying pan on the hob. When hot, add the soomph and mustard seeds. The idea here is to toast them, not burn them. Keep them moving over the hot surface until lightly browned then remove at once from the heat. Peel and finely mince the garlic and ginger, thinly slice the onion and coarsely chop the tomatoes. Now for the chillies. Because you know the chilli tolerance of your fellow diners, select the quantity of chillies accordingly. Some – like this writer – like it hot, others don’t.
If your guests are chilli-hostile, depip one of the chillies and use only the skin. Cut the barracuda into chunky steaks, then dip them into a mixture made from the two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and one teaspoon of salt.
Select a heavy-bottomed frying pan and pour in just enough sunflower or canola oil to thinly cover the bottom. Bring this up to medium heat and add the minced ginger and garlic. Add the sliced onions and sweat them until they are transparent.
Add the toasted spices, plus the turmeric and ground jeera. Add the chopped tomatoes plus two cups of water and let this simmer lightly for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to a slow simmer, then carefully pour in the plain yogurt.
This is the labour-intensive part of the whole deal because it requires continual stirring for three minutes. Add the sugar (to compensate for the acidity of the tomatoes) plus a pinch of salt.
Stir vigorously to evenly distribute the ingredients. Place the barracuda steaks in the mixture and let them cook for three to four minutes per side. Drop in the sultanas and let the meal continue to simmer until the fish is done to your liking.
Note that barracuda is a firm-fleshed fish that dries out with overcooking. So use your judgement. Serve with freshly made white rice and garnish with hand-torn dhania leaves. Don’t forget a few chilled Pilsners. – David Basckin |fw
Ski boat barracuda curry
(the secret’s in the soomph)
Picture the scene: it’s a fine dawn off Pennington, KZN South Coast, and the rubber duck skippered by Craig Davis has my 13-year-old son Daniel as crew. Daniel, fishing with live bait, catches two things at once: first, a huge bout of seasickness, second, a 7kg barracuda. With two fights on his hands – fish and mal de mer – he lands the fish after an epic struggle during which the ocean gets his entire breakfast. Needless to say his dad is overwhelmed with pride followed by envy, and to even up the family rankings does his very best with this exceptional fish. The outcome was a classic KZN curry, in which spices, yogurt and KZN pele-pele chillies brought their own special magic to the party.
To make a barracuda curry to feed four hungry deep-sea fishermen, you will need: • 1kg barracuda • 150ml plain yogurt • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder • 2 tablespoons of soomph seeds (fennel) • 3 to 6 small KZN pele-pele chillies • 2 tablespoons mustard seeds • 50mm fresh root ginger • 5 cloves of garlic • 1 onion • 4 tomatoes • a couple of sprigs of fresh dhania (coriander) • 1 teaspoon freshly ground jeera (cumin) • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice • 1 teaspoon brown sugar • 2 tablespoons of sultanas or raisins • 1 teaspoon salt • sunflower or canola oil
