Banana Seafood Curry

Keith's Recipes

Another Fruity Curry

A delicious, Indian-Thai hybrid curry with a surprising fruity undertone.

This is a recipe Adam and I came up with trying to figure out what to do with an overripe banana. Well, that and some halibut fillets that looked good in the local grocery meat department.

Banana Seafood Curry

Serves about 4

• 2 Acorn squash
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• About 3/4 lbs. halibut fillet
• About 3/4 lbs. bay scallops
• 2 medium onions
• 2 large red bell peppers
• 2 bananas (or other fruit, about 1 cup)
• 2 Tbsp. red curry paste
• 2 Tbsp. curry powder
• 14 oz. coconut milk
• 3/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• ground cumin
• ground turmeric
• black pepper
• salt

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Cut the squash in half and clean out the seeds. Apply about 1/2 Tbsp olive oil to each and rub over the surface of the meat. Season with salt, black pepper, and cumin to taste. Place squash halves face up in a baking pan and roast in oven for 25-30 minutes, checking periodically. Tips should be brown when done.

Cut halibut into about 2" pieces. Coarse chop onions and peppers. Slice bananas into about 1/4" pieces and set aside.

Heat sesame oil in a large, heavy skillet or dutch oven (OK, I like to use my hammered steel wok). Add scallops and season with salt, pepper, turmeric, and cumin to taste. Brown over medium-high heat, turning continually for about 10 minutes. Add halibut and continue to brown until halibut is nearly done. Add onions, peppers, about half of the cilantro, curry powder, curry paste, and lime leaves and continue browning, stirring to keep from sticking, until onions just begin to go soft.

Stir in coconut milk, remaining cilantro, and fruit. Raise heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. As soon as it begins boiling, reduce heat to simmer and cover, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.

Remove from head and let sit about 3 minutes before serving.

Remove lime leaves before serving. Serve curry in squash halves, one per person.

To spice this up, add some chopped Thai peppers or some hot pepper sauce with the coconut milk or the vegetables.

Serve with plain yogurt and crispy rice.