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Ceylon Curry of Scallops

A coconut and almond curry with scallops served over rice.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Turmeric and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,776 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Ceylon Curry of Scallops

Ingredients

Directions

Make the curry base

  1. Melt the butter in an earthenware casserole over low heat.

  2. Add the minced onion and fry gently until soft but not colored.

  3. Mix the crème de riz, turmeric, cinnamon, and salt with milk to form a paste, then add to the onions.

  4. Fry the mixture for 5 minutes, then moisten with broth.

  5. Stir in the ground almonds, desiccated coconut, and pounded ginger, then bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.

  6. Strain the mixture through a sieve to remove ginger pieces and return the liquid to the casserole.

Add scallops and serve

  1. Bring the liquid nearly to a boil, then add the scallops and reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes until tender.

  2. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice and cream.

  3. Serve in the casserole with a napkin or frilled paper around it, accompanied by well-boiled rice.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Turmeric + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,776 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,380 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  3. Cinnamon + almondtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,514 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Turmeric + cinnamontop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,197 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Turmeric + coconuttop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,027 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Butter
Adds fat and rich flavor to the onions as they cook gently.
Onion
Softens into a sweet, aromatic base for the curry.
Crème de riz
Thickens the broth into a smooth, body-rich sauce.
Ground sweet almonds
Adds body and nutty richness, thickening the sauce slightly.
Scallops (in the method)
Provide the main protein, becoming tender as they simmer in the sauce.
Desiccated coconut
Contributes sweetness, fat, and a creamy texture to the curry.

The step that matters

Simmering the scallops. Scallops turn firm and rubbery when overcooked. Keeping the liquid just below a boil and simmering gently keeps them tender while they cook through.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, turmeric, cinnamon, almond, coconut, ginger, lemon):

  1. Arrowrootfits better
  2. Sweet potatofits better
  3. Shallotfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, turmeric, cinnamon, almond, coconut, ginger, lemon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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