Aromatic Vegetable and Prawn Coconut Curry with Okra, made with SN3

SPICE CURRY SPICE PACK (Spice Curry Spice Pack Symphony No.3 / SN3) makes this Aromatic Vegetable and Prawn Coconut Curry with Okra.

If you like oriental cooking, this is a curry you should not miss. The key is cooking the aromatic vegetables properly to draw out their sweetness. Prawns, coconut and minced chicken come together in fine balance, with the texture and slip of okra as a lift.

The lemon juice is optional, but the acidity pulls the whole thing together, so do try it.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• SN3 / starter spices (the bag of whole spices): 1 bag
• SN3 / powder spices (the bag of ground spices): 1 bag
• Canned whole tomatoes: 1 can (400g)
• Onion: 1/2
• Carrot: 1/2
• Celery: 1 (the stalk)
• Garlic (finely chopped): 1–2 cloves
• Peeled prawns: 200g
• Minced chicken breast: 100g
• Coconut milk: 1 can (400ml)
• Nam pla (Thai fish sauce): 2 tsp
• Butter: 10g
• Sugar: 2 tsp
• Salt: 1 tsp
• Oil: 3 tbsp (use whichever oil you prefer; for this recipe we suggest rice bran oil or white sesame oil)
• Water: 200ml
• For the topping
  • Lemon: 1/2 (cut into 4 wedges)
  • Okra: 4 (slicing it finely and scattering it over makes it easier to eat)

Preparation

• Finely chop the garlic, onion, carrot and celery (the stalk). (Use the celery leaves as a topping if you like.)
  
  
• Rub a pinch of salt (not counted in the quantities above) into the peeled prawns, rinse them under water and remove any veins.
  
  

Method

1. Put the oil: 3 tbsp in a pan over low heat, and once the oil has warmed, add the starter spices (the bag of whole spices).
   
   
   
   
2. When the cardamom (the green pods) puff up, add the garlic, onion, carrot and celery and stir them through the spices.
   
   
3. Turn the heat to high and splash in water again and again as you cook the aromatic vegetables properly until they are amber.
   (About 12 minutes)
   
   ↓ Just after adding them
   
   
   ↓ Cook them until they look like this
   
   
   
   
   

   How far you cook the onion changes the finished dish more than anything else. “It came out watery”, “the tomato tastes too sharp”, “it lacks depth” — the single biggest cause of all three is moving on to the next step before the onion has gone amber. The points are: keep the heat at medium to high spread the onion evenly across the pan and leave it, then stir; spread it evenly and leave it again, then stir — and repeat whenever you stir and feel something catching on the base of the pan, splash in a little water (in our experience, about 2 tbsp of water each time, roughly five times in all) Splashing in water carries the savour the onion releases through the whole pan and keeps it from catching while it turns amber. Letting it colour just enough to need a splash of water is, if anything, exactly what draws the flavour out. It takes a little time and attention, but it is the step that decides the result, so give it the care it needs.

   
   
   
4. Once the aromatic vegetables are amber, lower the heat to low, add the butter: 10g and let it melt, then add the minced chicken breast: 100g and salt: 1 tsp and cook until it takes on colour.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Add about half of the powder spices and work them through, thinking of it as cooking the powder itself through.
   
   
   
   
6. Add the canned whole tomatoes: 1 can (400g), crush them down to a paste, then stir everything together.
   
   
   
   
7. Switch to medium heat, and once it comes to the boil, add the coconut milk: 1 can, nam pla: 2 tsp and sugar: 2 tsp and stir them in.
   
   
   
   
8. Once it comes to the boil, lower the heat to low, add all of the remaining powder spices, then add the peeled prawns: 200g and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
   
   
   
   
9. Taste and adjust the salt.
   
   
10. Spoon it onto a plate and finish with the lemon and okra.
    
    

Inspice spice curry spice sets contain none of the chilli, cayenne or red pepper that usually carries the heat, so add as much as you like to suit your taste.