Monkfish from Beatriz Treloar's Fish & Seafood Cookbook

Monkfish, prawn and tomato curry



2 portions


The key thing with this dish is to make sure the sauce is creamy, with the tomatoes part of the creaminess, and well reduced. Cooking time for the sauce alone is at least an hour to an hour and a half (the longer the better – if you can cook it for two hours, then great). Bearing in mind the preparation time, this dish can take three hours to deliver to the table. 


The tomatoes should have their skins on and be chopped, with the woody bit in the middle at the top removed. Make sure you don’t lose any juice, so prepare them on a board with a runnel around the edge.


With chillies, because you can usually not tell in advance how hot they are going to be, start by adding half the amount, then testing for heat after a while to see if you need to add more – you can always add heat but it is hard to remove it.

Heat a wok to medium heat then add the oil; when hot add the onion, garlic, ginger, lime leaves, chilli, and curry masala and fry for 5 – 6 minutes, stirring frequently.


Now add ¾ of the coconut milk and crabmeat and simmer for 15 minutes, still stirring frequently, then the tomatoes. Continue stirring every few minutes. If you don’t, there is a danger the mixture at the bottom of the pan will stick and burn.

When the mixture begins to resemble a sauce (after 30 - 45 minutes) add the remaining oil and coconut milk, and the salt.


After another 10 minutes add the potato and simmer the mixture until the potato is medium soft, which will probably take around 15 - 20 minutes, then add the monkfish. Simmer for a further 15 minutes when the monkfish will be almost cooked then add the prawns, coriander and okra. Just leave for 5 – 6 minutes, still stirring, then serve. Don’t be afraid to add a bit of water if you think it’s getting too dry at any stage, or cook for a little longer for the potatoes to soften a little more – different varieties can take different amounts of time to cook.


A fabulous dish, rich and filling, this is great on its own. So many flavours come through.


CLICK TO RETURN TO COOKBOOK