Prawn/ Fish Caldine

500 grams prawns/fish
1/2 teaspoon salt – for marination
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder – for marination

1/2 coconut
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
10 cloves
25 pepper corns
1 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
6 cloves garlic
One inch piece ginger
2 medium sized green chillies

1/2 a lime size of tamarind
One small onion finely chopped
One small tomato finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Method
Marinate the fish/prawns with salt and turmeric. If you are using vegetables like cauliflower then soak the cauliflower in salted water to get out any unwanted pests

Grind the coriander, cumin, cloves and peppercorns into a powder and then add the coconut, turmeric, garlic, ginger and green chillies. Grind this into a paste

Empty the curry paste into a sieve ans add half a cup of water. With a clean hand or with a spatula remove all the juice. This is called the ‘ros’ and is the thick juice which needs to be set aside. Now put back into the mixture the dry curry paste, add one more cup of water and give it a spin. Take this off and extract the juice the second time. Do not mix the two juices.

In a vessel add about two tablespoons of oil and fry the onions till they are translucent. Then add the chopped tomatoes and render down completely. Add the second juice and drop the heat. From now on keep the curry on just below simmering heat. Add the sugar, vinegar and the juice of the tamarind that was soaked in hot water. Let this cook for about ten minutes on very low heat. Now add the fish/prawns/cauliflower and cook for five minutes. Check for salt. Finally add the first juice and give everything a stir. Cook for a minute more and again check for salt. At this stage if you would like the dish to be more than mildly hot add a slit green chilly. Turn the gas off and cover with a lid. The fish/prawns/cauliflower will continue to cook in its own heat .Serve on rice and always hot