Hot-and-sour coconut sauce

Name: Hot-and-sour coconut sauce
Yield: Makes 2 litres
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: ½ teaspoon cumin seeds; 2 teaspoons coriander seeds; 4 kaffir lime leaves, shredded; 4 fresh red bird’s-eye chillies, minced; 1 stalk lemongrass, finely sliced; ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds; 1 stick cinnamon, broken into pieces; ½ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns; ½ teaspoon white peppercorns; 50 ml vegetable oil; 1 teaspoon nigella seeds; 1200 ml jellied Beef or Veal stock; 2 dried bird’s-eye chillies; 2 teaspoons dried prawns; 1 brown onion, minced; 350 ml Tamarind Liquid; seeds from 4 green cardamom pods, ground; 500 ml coconut milk; 2 teaspoons ground turmeric; 5 cloves garlic, minced; 1 teaspoon minced galangal; 1 tablespoon minced ginger; 150 ml tomato purée

Preparation info

Makes
2 litres

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Spice

By Christine Manfield

Published 1999

About

This rich, spicy sauce is the perfect accompaniment to red meat — it softens and subdues meat fibres — and root vegetables.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons coriander seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon

Asia
India
Sauce
Side dish
Gluten-free
Spicy

Method

Dry-roast coriander, cumin and fenugreek seeds with Sichuan and white peppercorns, dried chillies and dried prawns over gentle heat until just coloured and fragrant. Cool, then grind to a fine powder.

Heat oil in a deep, wide-based saucepan over moderate heat and sauté onion, garlic, ginger, galangal, minced chilli, lime leaves, lemongrass and cinnamon until fragrant. Stir in roasted sp