Calalmari curry(Sri Lankan dallo curry).
Calamari recipe cooked with curry powders and coconut milk, you are going to love cooking this seafood curry for its delicious flavors. Whether you call it a calamari curry, a cuttlefish curry, or even “dallo curry” in Sinhalese, the taste of turning these sea creatures into a curry with Sri Lankan spices is a seafood dish you won’t want to miss.
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 45 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
- Ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.
- 700 g 1 kg cleaned calamari or squid(see video or reading provided above)
- To boil the calamari first
- 4 cup water
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp garlic-ginger paste(mince equal parts of garlic cloves and ginger stalk)
- salt to season(1 teaspoon should do)
- To cook the calamari/squid/dallo gravy.
- 4 tbsp oil
- A sprig of curry leaves
- 3 green chillies split
- 3 medium-sized onions chopped fine
- 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste(equal parts of garlic cloves and a ginger)
- 1 inch piece Cinnamon
- 2-3 banana peppers(though I have used, you can avoid using it)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper(increase to 1 teaspoon if necessary)
- 2 tbsp raw curry powder(you can substitute this with 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of cumin powder and 3 tablespoons coriander powder)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 and 1/2 cup thick coconut milk
- Salt to season
Instructions
- 1
The recipe instruction given is a step-by-step process where you finish one step of preparing the cuttlefish before moving on to the next step.
- 2
I usually do both the boiling, draining and making of the gravy side by side.
- 3
For this purpose, I have all the ingredients ready and start making the gravy 20-30 minutes before boiling the cuttlefish.
- 4
This way, the gravy has enough time to cook and thicken for the cuttlefish to be added.
- 5
But for your first time, I would suggest you start as per the recipe instructions below, just to have an idea of the workflow involved in cooking the “dallo” curry.
- 6
Have all the ingredients prepped and ready; this will make making the calamari recipe easier to make.
- 7
Have a pan in your sink ready to drain the water from the cuttlefish(700g-1 kg)once they are boiled.
- 8
Clean and cut the calamari/cuttlefish into rings and set them aside.
- 9
Fill a medium-sized pan with water(4 cups)and boil the water until bubbles appear.
- 10
Add turmeric(1 tsp), ginger-garlic paste, and salt to season.
- 11
Reduce the heat to medium and add the calamari(cuttlefish) rings to the boiling water.
- 12
Boil the cuttlefish for exactly 2 minutes(time it if necessary).
- 13
Once the 2 minutes are done, immediately drain the water from the cuttlefish and set aside until you add the cuttlefish to the gravy.
- 14
Place a wok or cooking pan over low-medium heat and pour the oil.
- 15
Once the oil heats, add the curry leaves(a sprig) and the ginger-garlic paste.
- 16
Cook over low heat for 2 minutes.
- 17
Add the chopped onions, green chillies, and cinnamon and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- 18
Add the banana peppers(optional).
- 19
Cook until they turn slightly soft. 3 minutes over low-medium fire.
- 20
Have the spices ready: turmeric powder, red chilli powder, pepper powder, raw curry powder(you can substitute with regular curry powder or 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of cumin powder and 3 tablespoons of coriander powder).
- 21
You can also add Jaffna curry powder or roasted curry powder for a more intense and spicier taste.
- 22
Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, curry powder, and pepper.
- 23
Cook the spices with the other ingredients in the pan over low heat.
- 24
The result would be a wet, oily spice paste.
- 25
Depending on the curry powder used(mentioned above), you will have a darker or lighter colour wet spice paste.
- 26
My spice paste is darker because I used roasted curry powder.
- 27
Cook the paste for 2 minutes over low fire and avoid burning it.
- 28
Pour in the coconut milk.
- 29
Slightly increase the heat for the gravy to simmer while thickening. 3-5 minutes.
- 30
Add sugar and season with salt, taste make sure you have a balanced taste in the gravy at this point.
- 31
Slow-simmer the gravy for 10-15 minutes until the gravy is slightly thick and changes colour to have the usual light brown colour.
- 32
Once the”dallo” curry gravy reaches the right colour and consistency, add the cuttlefish to the gravy.
- 33
Reduce the heat and slow-simmer for another 10 minutes or until the gravy thickens and begins coating the calamari.
- 34
As the calamari(cuttlefish)curry cooks, make sure you taste and adjust the seasoning.
- 35
You can add pepper, curry powder, red chilli powder and a little bit more sugar to balance off the taste.
- 36
Once the gravy is thick and lightly coats the cuttlefish.
- 37
Serve the cuttlefish curry warm and enjoy it with your favourite rice and curry dish.