Spicy Octopus Curry

Okay, this was unfamiliar territory, but I love octopus, squid, prawns,  well basically most of the seafood. But even though I live in a country surrounded by the Indian Ocean, I rarely cook octopus, in fact, I cooked it only once, and that was also in my aunt's kitchen in Kulhudhufushi when we went to visit her once.
Anyway, my cousin goes octopus hunting now and then with his friends so I asked my aunt to get him to catch an octopus for me and send it to me when someone comes over to Male'. So she sent me a big one , frozen but cleaned and ready to be chopped up to cook.
I called up a friend of mine, who cooks octopus often, for advice and she advised me not to add any water when cooking just a tiny bit is enough as a lot of moisture will come out from the octopus itself.  The boys refused to eat it,  so it was just me and hubby, who enjoyed it with some rice and salad. You can even eat it with flat bread or even some potatoes.

Recipe: Spicy Octopus Curry

about 800g  octopus meat, cut into small pieces
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
about 10-12 curry leaves
2 tsp lonumirus ( Maldivian chilli paste)
1 tsp tomato paste
1/4 cup water
salt
about 2-3 tbsp oil

Heat oil in a suitable-sized saucepan or casserole with a tight-fitting lid.  Add the onions and curry leaves and saute till the onions start to soften and colour. Add the lonumirus, tomato paste and water and stir fry for a minute.

Add the octopus meat and mix well in the chilli paste mix.    Cover and let it simmer over low heat for an hour. A lot of liquid will come out from the octopus so don't be tempted to add more water. 45 minutes into cooking, remove the lid and let it simmer uncovered till almost all the water evaporates and you are left with a  thick rich sauce.

Taste, add salt to taste and if you like a little bit of lime juice. The octopus meat should be tender and not rubbery.  Switch off and serve with rice or flat bread.