Tamarind duck
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 10 to 30 mins
- Serve
- Serves 2
This lip-puckeringly sweet and sour tamarind sauce cuts through the richness of fried duck breasts. Serve this easy curry with rice or roti.
By Romy Gill
From Ready Steady Cook
Ingredients
For the tamarind sauce
- 3 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 20g/¾oz fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1 red or green chilli, finely sliced
- 2 tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 tbsp ready-made tamarind paste (or purée, see tip below)
- ½ tsp flaked sea salt
- ½ tsp caster sugar
For the duck
- 2 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
- 2 duck breasts (around 340g/12oz in total), skin removed, trimmed of fat and sinew and cut into roughly 2–3cm/¾–1¼in cubes
- flaked sea salt, to season
- 1 spring onion, trimmed and finely sliced
Method
For the tamarind curry sauce, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium non-stick frying pan and fry the onion, garlic and ginger over a low heat for 8 minutes, or until well softened, stirring regularly.
Add the rest of the oil, chilli, garam masala and turmeric. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, then add the tomato purée, tamarind paste (or purée), salt and sugar. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add 200ml/7fl oz of cold water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Transfer the mixture to a heatproof jug and blend with a stick blender until smooth. (You can also leave to cool a little and then transfer to a food processor or blender and blitz until smooth.) Adjust the seasoning to taste, adding a little more salt if needed. Set aside.
For the duck, heat the oil in a clean non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Season the duck with a little flaked sea salt and add to the pan. Stir-fry for 2–3 minutes, or until lightly coloured on all sides. Add the sauce to the duck and bring to a simmer. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Scatter the spring onion over and serve.
Recipe tips
If using a block of tamarind instead of a ready-made paste, place 25g/1oz seedless tamarind pulp in a bowl and cover with 100ml/3½fl oz just-boiled water. Leave to stand for 15–20 minutes, or until softened, then pass through a fine sieve to make roughly 2 tablespoons of tamarind purée.
