Kari zourit

Ingredients

Octopus

• 1.2 kgoctopus, cleaned, beak and ink sac removed
• 1 tbspcoarse salt
• 1lime, halved

Curry base

• 3 tbspvegetable oil
• 2onions (300 g), finely sliced
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 30 gfresh ginger, grated
• 3 tbspSeychellois masala or a good Madras curry powder
• 1 tspturmeric
• 2tomatoes (200 g), chopped
• 10fresh curry leaves
• 2 sprigsfresh thyme
• 1cinnamon stick
• 2green chillies, slit
• 400 mlthick coconut milk
• 200 mlwater
• 1 tspsalt

To finish

• 1small aubergine or 1 green papaya wedge, cubed (optional)
• 2 tbspchopped coriander leaf
• Juice of 1 lime

To serve

• 400 gwhite rice, steamed
• Chatini of green papaya or golden apple
• Lentil dhal

Directions

1. Tenderise the octopus. The Seychellois way is to beat it against a rock or a hard board 30 or 40 times, or to freeze it for at least 48 hours and thaw it slowly, which does the same job by rupturing the muscle fibres. Untreated octopus stays rubbery no matter how long you cook it.
2. Rub the octopus with the coarse salt and lime, rinse, and cut the tentacles into 4 cm lengths and the head into strips.
3. Simmer the octopus in unsalted water with a lid for 30–35 minutes, until a knife slips into the thickest part of a tentacle with slight resistance. Reserve 200 ml of the cooking liquid and drain the rest.
4. Heat the oil in a heavy pot and fry the onion over medium heat for 10–12 minutes until soft and golden at the edges, then add the garlic, ginger, curry leaves, thyme and cinnamon and cook 2 minutes until fragrant.
5. Add the masala and turmeric and fry for 60–90 seconds only, splashing in a tablespoon of water to stop it catching. Frying the spice properly removes the raw dustiness; burning it makes the whole curry bitter.
6. Add the tomato and chillies and cook 6–8 minutes until the tomato breaks down and oil beads at the surface.
7. Add the octopus with the reserved cooking liquid and the aubergine if using, and simmer 10 minutes.
8. Pour in the coconut milk and simmer very gently, uncovered, for 15–20 minutes. Do not let it boil hard: coconut milk splits and goes grainy above a bare simmer.
9. The curry is ready when the sauce is thick enough to coat the octopus, pale orange with a slick of oil on top, and the tentacles are tender enough to cut with the side of a spoon. Season, finish with lime juice and coriander off the heat.
10. Serve with steamed rice, a spoonful of dhal and a sharp green chatini, which is the standard Creole plate.

Technique

• Octopus is either cooked quickly or cooked long; the middle ground is rubber. Kari zourit takes the long road, and the pre-simmer before the curry is what guarantees tenderness.
• Seychellois masala is milder and more aromatic than Indian curry powder, heavy on coriander and cumin with cinnamon and clove, and lighter on chilli. The heat in a Creole curry comes from the fresh chillies and the chatini, not the powder.
• Add the coconut milk at the end and keep it below a simmer. Long-boiled coconut milk separates into oil and curd and the sauce loses its silkiness.
• Zourit is Seychellois Creole for octopus and this curry is the signature dish of the islands, eaten at Sunday lunch and at every Creole festival.

Substitutions

• No octopus? Squid works but needs only 4 minutes in the curry at the end, since it toughens fast; frozen octopus is actually preferable to fresh here because the freezing tenderises it.
• No Seychellois masala? Use 2 tbsp mild curry powder plus ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground clove and 1 tsp ground coriander.
• Fresh curry leaves can be replaced by 6 dried ones, though the aroma is much weaker; do not use bay.

Variations

• Kari zourit with green mango or bilimbi stirred in for sourness.
• Kari bernik, the same treatment applied to tec-tec (small clams) or to shark.
• A drier version, satini zourit, with far less coconut milk and more onion, eaten as a side.

History

Octopus curry in coconut milk, the dish most identified with Seychelles; the octopus is tenderised by beating it on rocks before cooking.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kari zourit?

Kari zourit is a main from Seychelles: octopus curry in creamy coconut milk, Creole signature. Octopus curry in coconut milk, the dish most identified with Seychelles; the octopus is tenderised by beating it on rocks before cooking.

How long does Kari zourit take to make?

Kari zourit takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Kari zourit?

Yes, within limits. No octopus? Squid works but needs only 4 minutes in the curry at the end, since it toughens fast; frozen octopus is actually preferable to fresh here because the freezing tenderises it. No Seychellois masala? Use 2 tbsp mild curry powder plus ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground clove and 1 tsp ground coriander. Fresh curry leaves can be replaced by 6 dried ones, though the aroma is much weaker; do not use bay.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kari zourit?

Add the masala and turmeric and fry for 60–90 seconds only, splashing in a tablespoon of water to stop it catching. Frying the spice properly removes the raw dustiness; burning it makes the whole curry bitter.