Tender Pan-Seared Curried Scallops Recipe

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Cooking With Anadi

12K subscribers · seared scallops with curry spice over mango guacamole

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Scallops have always been seen as a special protein source in my eyes. I’ve always been fascinated by scallop dishes prepared in Hell’s Kitchen, and when I saw the contestants cook their scallops for their challenges or for the dinner services, I’ve always wanted to make my own!

I’ve only had scallops a handful of times at family dinners here in Canada, and before this recipe I had only made them once before because my girlfriend’s parents had some extra frozen scallops that I was invited to use. Cooking scallops has been a dream of mine, but I really wanted to save scallops for a special dish because unfortunately they’re very expensive!

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If you’ve been wanting to learn how to make the best scallops at home then you’re going to love this pan-fried scallops with curry powder recipe! The scallops will be so tender and flavorful with homemade curry powder, and they will go well with a variety of side dishes! Make sure to watch the video so you can truly grasp the concepts and follow along with me as I prepare the scallops. If you’re not already, be sure to subscribe to me on YouTube so you always know when the corresponding video to all of my recipes go live! Let’s get cooking!

Why Make Seared Curried Scallops?

You’re bound to love these scallops for so many reasons! Here’s why you need to make them for a wonderful meal!

• Versatile: You can serve these scallops with a variety of side dishes and sauces!
• Easy: You can make these scallops in about 10 minutes! All we need to do is season our scallops and they cook extremely quickly!
• Minimal ingredients: The majority of the ingredients used are in the curry powder. To cook our scallops, we just need the scallops themselves and some olive oil!

Tips for Perfectly Pan-seared Scallops

• Patting your scallops dry with paper towel will not only help with getting a perfect sear but will help the curry powder stick onto the scallops
• Season both sides of the scallops with the curry powder and salt
• If your scallops were in the fridge before cooking, let them sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes and will help to speed up the cook time and to ensure even cooking throughout the scallops
• Make sure you don’t overcrowd the pan and make sure the pan is sizzling the moment you add the first scallop. If it’s not hot enough when you add the first scallop, take the scallop out and then add them back when the oil is hot enough.
• Get the other side of the scallops a nice crust like you see on the top side.
• To test if the scallops are cooked, touch the scallop and see if the texture is like Jello. If it cuts easily with a knife, then it’s ready. Scallops are opaque on the inside when they are cooked.
• If you are really unsure, you’re better to cook the scallops a little longer than to undercook them! Technically you can eat them slightly undercooked, but this depends on the quality of your scallops. If you don’t know the source, cooking longer is best.
• Take the scallops out in one smooth move instead of taking them out one by one. You’re risking over-cooking your scallops if you take them off the pan one by one.

Tools Needed

• Nonstick pan
• Mixing bowl
• Cutting board
• Chefs knife
• Baking sheet
• Tongs

Ingredients for Pan-seared Scallops

As mentioned earlier, most of the ingredients for these Curried Pan-Seared Scallops are actually for the curry powder! We just need some salt for extra seasoning and oil to cook our scallops.

Remember, the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD has all ingredient quantities and step by step instructions. You can save the recipe for later, and it’s so easy to scale the ingredient quantities based on how many portions of scallops you want to make!

For the Scallops

• Scallops: I’m using sea scallops for this recipe. Sea scallops are the larger, thicker scallops, whereas bay scallops are smaller and thinner. I recommend using the sea scallops for more body if serving them as part of a main dish. If you are using bay scallops in this recipe, keep in mind that they will cook even quicker than these, so adjust the cook time accordingly.
• Olive oil: I’m using olive oil to cook the scallops today. It’s a neutral oil that’s good for searing the scallops and will help to get an excellent golden brown color and a perfect char. If you were to use butter, it will burn at the temperature we’ll be cooking the scallops at. You can use any neutral oil of your choice such as vegetable oil, canola oil or grapeseed oil.

For the Curry Powder

• Ground coriander
• Ground cumin
• Ground turmeric
• Ground ginger
• Garlic powder
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground fennel
• Cayenne pepper or red chili powder
• Ground cloves

How to Make Pan-fried Curried Scallops

For the Curry Powder

1. To make homemade Curry Powder Spice Mix, simply mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl or plate. Transfer to an airtight glass jar or mason jar.

To Make the Scallops

1. Pat the scallops dry with paper towel to absorb any excess moisture.
2. Season each side with a pinch of curry powder and salt.
3. Heat a pan on medium to medium heat and add a thin film of olive oil across the pan.
4. Once the oil is hot, add the scallops in a clockwise or anticlockwise order. Each side should be seared for 60-90 seconds or until golden brown. Flip and cook the other side as well
5. Once cooked, take all of the scallops out of the pan at the same time by transferring them to a baking sheet/plate lined with paper towels.
6. Plate and serve warm with mango guacamole and freshly chopped tomatoes.

Serving Suggestions

Here are side dishes that would pair amazingly well with your Seared Curried Scallops!

• Chunky Mango Guacamole (this is the dish shown in the pictures and video)
• Simple Basmati Rice
• Light and Healthy Vegetable Rice Pulao
• Garlic Creamed Spinach
• Ultimate Creamy Mashed Potatoes

A Closer Look at the Curry Blend

The blend is nine dry spices, and the split between tablespoons and teaspoons is what gives it its shape. The tablespoon measures carry the body of it - 1 tablespoon of ground coriander, half a tablespoon of turmeric and half a tablespoon of cayenne pepper - while the teaspoons handle the detail: 2 teaspoons of cumin, 1 teaspoon each of ground ginger and garlic powder, half a teaspoon each of cinnamon and ground fennel, and just 1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves. Cloves and cinnamon are the two that will take over the whole blend if you get heavy-handed, which is exactly why they sit at the smallest measures.

Note that the garlic here is garlic powder rather than fresh, and that is deliberate. This is a dry rub going onto a scallop that spends roughly four minutes in a hot pan, and fresh garlic would scorch long before the scallop was done. Cayenne pepper is the only heat in the blend, so cut it back to a teaspoon if you would rather the spice sit in the background, or leave it at half a tablespoon and let the mango guacamole cool it down on the plate.

How Long Curried Scallops Take, Start to Finish

This is a nine-minute recipe on paper - about five minutes of prep and four minutes of actual cooking - but the clock really starts 20 to 30 minutes earlier, when the scallops come out of the fridge. Cold scallops cook unevenly and sit in the pan longer than they should, which is the fastest way to lose the tender center you are searing for.

Once the pan is going it is 1 to 2 minutes a side and no more. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high, add a thin film of olive oil, and wait for it to shimmer - the pan should sizzle the instant the first scallop lands. Seven sea scallops fit one pan comfortably, so if you are cooking more than that, sear them in batches rather than crowding them in. A crowded pan drops in temperature and steams the scallops instead of browning them.

The fat here is olive oil rather than butter for the same reason. At the heat needed for a proper sear, the milk solids in butter burn before the crust ever forms, so there is nothing to be gained from melting butter into this pan. Any neutral oil will do the job just as well - vegetable, canola or grapeseed.

To put the total time in one place: roughly five minutes of prep, four minutes in the pan, nine minutes altogether - on top of the 20 to 30 minutes the scallops spend coming up to room temperature first. That is the entire schedule for these curry scallops, and the only genuinely unforgiving part of it is the 1-2 minutes each side spends face down in the oil. Everything else you can take at your own pace.

Garnishes and What to Serve Alongside

The plate in the photos is the serving idea in full: scallops straight out of the pan onto chunky mango guacamole, with about a tablespoon of freshly chopped tomatoes scattered over the top. The garnish is not decoration. The sweetness of the mango and the acidity of the tomato are there to sit against the cayenne and the warm spices in the crust, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice just before serving does the same job if you want a sharper edge.