An easily cooked Madagascan squid curry with flavours of tomato, ginger, chilli and peanuts, the building blocks of numerous Madagascan dishes. And, it's just as often done with poultry or in a vegan version with lima beans if seafood is not your thing.
Squids in
I first learned this recipe for Madagascan squid curry from a friend in Paris. He’d grown up on the west coast of the unique Indian Ocean island nation and explained that its combination of ginger, garlic, chillies and peanuts was the foundation of many Malagasse dishes. Decades later I would discover for myself that indeed it is, whether with squid, other seafood or as a vegetarian version that popped up everywhere from local cafés (called hotely) to rather chichi hotel restaurants.
Madagascar is something of a cultural melting pot. It’s position in the Indian Ocean saw it initially settled by peoples from Borneo, but it later attracted settlers from Sri Lanka, India, the African mainland and China, all of whom became subject to French rule after it was colonised in the 19th century. So, no surprise then that all these cultures have played a role in evolving Madagascan cuisine. It was, of course, also influenced by the natural flora and fauna of the island, not all of which came off well in coexistence with humans. But, whether is was, as with the Dodo, a matter of hungry humans simply not being able to resist the taste of gigantic Elephant Birds, gorilla-sized lemurs and giant tortoises unable to easily escape hunters or climate change that wiped out Madagascar’s megafauna remains hotly debated.
Pick your protein
This dish is cooked with whatever protein is to hand: lima beans, beef, chicken or seafood. While Madagascar remains one of the poorest countries in the world, more beef is consumed per capita than in other wealthier African countries. This has to do with the zebu humped steer that were introduced from the African mainland hundreds of years ago. Since 19th-century French colonialists never saw zebu beef as having an export market, they instead focussed their land grabs on wetter regions where the subtropical climate made it easier to produce sought-after cash crops and coastal regions where fishing and aquiculture of delicacies such as large prawns returned a greater profit.
Rural indigenous communities withdrew to more arid regions of little interest to most of the French where they reared the zebu ranch-style. Even today cattle rustling remains the biggest crime problem in parts of the country. Many of these more remote communities still consume more beef than those in urban settlements. And, of course, there is Romazava, Madagascar's national dish, a hearty meat stew (some might say curry) of zebu beef simmered in a spiced tomato broth with ginger and greens... in fact, very much this dish save for a few different ingredients.
But if, like my friend, you lived on the coast, squid and octopus were the two most favoured choices.
The influence of Indian and other Asian cuisine is notable in a lot of Madagascan cooking and the island is known as the producer of some of the most sought-after spices in the world. But it's my observation that the way herbs and spices are used is also different from their use in a lot of Indian cooking. It's simpler and less layered than in many Indian recipes with their long lists of spices. It has a freshness that brings to mind Thai or Vietnamese cooking at times. So, if those are cuisines you enjoy, chances are you will like this one.
Similarly, unlike Indian cuisine with it's myriad of complex chutneys, achars and pickles, Madagascan cuisine tends to head in the direction of sambals (of Indonesian origin) of fresh vegetables and herbs or fruits such as mango, pineapple or desiccated coconut. Hence, I'm doing it with a type of marinaded or "quick pickled" fresh mango as a condiment.
I’m using chard in this dish. In Madagascar, what’s used is something called “mountain spinach” that grows wild in the hills and is foraged but that people have cultivated in other parts of the island because it grows abundantly without much tending. It’s something like a cross between chard and kale and I would say that the closest thing I’ve encountered in the UK is callaloo (the leaf vegetable, not the dish to which it gives its name). So, if you can get your hands on fresh callaloo, it’s gives a more accurate impression of the Madagascan dish than chard. But, don't use tinned callaloo, because this is prepared in the manner of the iconic Caribbean vegetable stew rather than just being callaloo leaf.
Despite using mild chilli powder and mild curry powder, this dish packs quite a punch, mainly because of the Dandicut chillies (gol lal mirch) used in the spice paste, not to mention the black peppercorns. In fact, I would say that in these quantities it is on the spicy side of moderately hot. If you prefer your curries milder, use only one Dandicut chilli and slightly reduce the amount of black peppercorns in the spice paste.
Rice is one of the staples of the Madagascan diet, either served as a side dish to a more substantial curry or as a biriyani-like rice dish that is topped with effectively a slimmed down vegetable version of this curry. It's not really a true pilau, but almost somewhere between that and "Durban yellow rice", first boiled with turmeric and seasoning and then finished in the oven (or on an open chargrill) in a heavy pot with a lid, and frequently "fluffed" so that all the moisture cooks off and gives it that slightly "baked" sensibility of a pilau dish. Fresh herbs are added to the covered pot in the very final stages so that they are barely wilted.
This version is for 3 to 4 diners, but you can readily scale up/down quantities.
Please note that the imagery is indicative since I am cooking it in slightly different quantities here. For example, the quantity of squid would be five and not three squid of the size shown in the pictures.
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Shopping list
for the spice paste
1 tspn coriander seeds (dhania)
1 tspn whole black peppercorns
1 tspn black mustard seeds
2 dried stemless Dandicut chillies
1 star anise
4 green cardamom pods
1 tspn mild curry powder (e.g. Madras curry powder)
Approx. 1 tbspn peanut oil
1 tspn clear malt vinegar
A dash of lime juice
for Madagascan squid curry
Approx. 400g cleaned squid, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tspn mild Kashmiri chilli powder
the juice and pulp of 1 fresh lime
1 large onion (red or brown); cubed
1 fresh red bell pepper, sliced
4 large cloves of garlic, chopped
3 "thumbs" of root ginger; peeled and chopped
Approx. 5 tbspns peanut oil
1 (400g) tin chopped tomatoes, (or the equivalent in chopped, very ripe fresh tomatoes)
Approx. 120g chard (or callaloo); washed and roughly sliced
Approx. 170g of roasted/toasted peanuts; roughly crushed or chopped
A generous clutch or fresh coriander; roughly chopped
Approx. 60g creamed coconut, diluted in 500ml boiling water
salt to taste
for the sides and condiments
Rice — basmati cooked with turmeric, adding chopped fresh coriander or other herbs in the last minutes
Marinaded mango— a "quick pickle" mango condiment; see below
Cooking Method
the spice paste
In a small, dry pan, very lightly toast the black peppercorns, black mustard seeds, cardamom pods, coriander seeds and star anise on a low-medium heat. Grind in a spice grinder or using a pestle and mortar. Then mix together with the already ground mild curry powder
Add the oil, vinegar and a tspn of lime juice and mix into a a thick paste. If preparing some time before, stored sealed in a cool, dry place. But it can also be frozen for use up to a month later
the marinaded mango
Prepare this a few hours before cooking (or even the night before). Sprinkle sliced fresh mango with salt and rub in with your fingers so that the salt covers all surfaces. Store covered in the fridge for 60mins
Thoroughly wash, removing all the salt, and drain. Place the mango in a suitable dish with a lid and sprinkle in a little mild Kashmiri chilli powder. Stir so that it is evenly distributed. Add the juice and pulp of 1 fresh lime, a dash of vinegar and stir in
Cover and store in the fridge, marinading until you wish to serve it as a condiment or garnish (at least 3 hours, but use within 48 hours)
the Madagascan squid curry
Thoroughly wash the cleaned squid (any decent fishmonger will clean it for you when you buy it) and drain. Slice into "tubes" and cut the tentacles into bite-sized pieces. Marinade in the juice and pulp of the lime and 1tspn of mild Kashmiri chilli powder for about 40 to 60mins. Don't marinade longer than that: you're not preparing ceviche
To a pot or kadai with a lid, add about 1 tbspn peanut oil and heat on a medium-high heat. Add the squid and all the marinade and sauté until the squid is largely cooked. This should produce a fair amount of “liquor”. Tip the squid and all the liquid into a suitable bowl, but do not wash the pan. Cover the dish and place to one side
Return the pot to the heat, adding the remainder of the oil. Add the onions and sauté. When they begin to soften, add the bell pepper. Stir and cook until both have notably softened. Add the chopped garlic and ginger, stirring almost continuously so that they don't burn. As soon as you smell the released ginger and garlic aromas, add all of the spice paste and stir in thoroughly
After about a minute or so, as soon as the spice aromas release, pour all of the “liquor” from cooking the squid back into the pan and stir in. Simmer vigorously until the liquid cooks off. Add small amounts of your "coconut water" to ensure that the onions and bell pepper cook down until notably softened
Add the tomatoes and their juices and stir in. Simmer vigorously for approx. 5mins
Add about half of the remaining "coconut water". Cover and reduce the heat, simmering on a low-medium heat for at least 20mins, stirring occasionally and adding additional dabs of "coconut water" if it risks cooking too dry
Once the sauce has notably reduced (by about half), add the remainder of the coconut water and the chopped coriander and stir in. If necessary, increase the heat slightly to cook for another approx. 6mins at a healthy simmer
Once the sauce has again reduced (by roughly half), add the chopped peanuts and thoroughly stir in. Reduce to a low heat, cover and very gently simmer for approx. 15mins, stirring regularly to ensure the peanuts do not stick. If it has not notably thickened, allow a little longer
Add the chard, and re-cover the pan, allowing it a minute or so to wilt. Then fold in, re-cover, and allow it to cook gently for approx. 5mins
Add the squid back into the pot and fold in. Re-cover and cook until all ingredients are optimally cooked, checking and stirring quite regularly since it becomes a fairly thick curry. This should take between 5 and 10mins, depending on your pan and the heat. Once optimally cooked, remove from the heat and allow to rest, covered, for a few minutes before plating or taking to table in a serving dish
Serve with the rice and the marinaded mango
Alternatives
While this version of this dish is pescatarian, it is often made in a vegan version, usually with lima beans, which the French first introduced to Madagascar or with a variegated purple and white variety. Although these too originated in Peru, in some parts of the world they have become known as Madagascar beans because they were so suited to the climate that the island became one of the biggest exporters of this cultivar. Simply skip the first step of the recipe above (cooking the squid) and start with softening the onions. When you reach the stage where the "liquor" from the squid would be added to the pot (step 4) add the juice and pulp of 1 lime, ½ tspn mild Kashmiri curry powder and a little of the diluted creamed coconut to the pot and allow it to cook off. Add the pre-cooked lima beans into the pot at the same stage as the chard.
If you are a carnivore and would prefer to do this with meat rather than seafood, it is often cooked with chicken or beef. Cut into bite-sized pieces and treat either much the way in which the squid is cooked above. But, in each case, reintroduce back into the pot earlier than you would the squid. The chicken goes back in at the same time as the chard; beef, just after stirring in the peanuts.
Pairings
In recent years this is one of those dishes I've ended up having with sparkling water and lime mainly because my access to friends prepared to eat squid over the COVID lockdowns was limited and the conviviality of wine seemed wasted on most occasions I also managed to get my hands on good squid. But, I'm not complaining: it's a great pairing.
Like many curries, it's great with beer and that would often end up being the preferred tipple primarily because of the beverage preferences of the company for whom I cooked it. Perhaps ironic that it was usually Corona Extra, mainly because that wedge of lime makes it so right for this dish...
On the wine front, I obviously headed as default for my beloved South African chenin blancs with their peppery robustness that work so well with this kind of dish. But, I can't remember any specifics though I know KWV wineries featured prominently since they remain my all-time go-to on South African chenin blanc for spicy dishes; both the day-to-day or when splashing out. The other one that also stood out on an occasion in Paris was a Horgelus
Colombard - Sauvignon Côtes de Gascogne, but seriously no idea of the vintage. Unfortunately, it's not really the kind of wine that pops up a lot in the UK, so have never had the chance to re-test the theory.
Needless to say, if you do the beef version of this recipe, a red is going to work better or a suitably muscular rosado. Again, I can't remember the specifics, but the best pairing I ever had with the beef rendition was a very chilled (in the Spanish mode) Navarro Gran Rojo Tempranillo Rosado. But, from which winemaker or vintage, I cannot remember.
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