Bengali Mustard Fish

This is my new favorite fast-to-cook recipe. Cooking time 7 mins in the microwave...can't beat that!

From here with some minor substitutions

2-3 Steaks of Salmon, cleaned
2 tbsp mustard oil
3 tablespoons yogurt
2.5 tablespoons grated coconut
1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
few green chili, slit for garnish

For the mustard Paste:
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
3-4 hot green chillies
Salt to taste

To make Mustard Paste:
Soak the paste ingredients together in about 1/2 cup water for 30 minutes. Grind this mix into a thick paste in a blender/ mixer. The finer the paste, the better.

Now, add this mustard paste to the coconut, turmeric, chilli powder, mustard oil and yoghurt and mix well. the paste will be thickish, don't add water to thin out.

In a microwave safe glass bowl, coat the dish with mustard oil, and then arrange the pieces of salmon in the bowl. Now, pour the mixture above to cover and immerse the salmon completely. Add a few slit green chillies on top. Cover the bowl with cling wrap, and cook for 3 mins on high in the microwave. The cling wrap will create steam which will slowly steam the fish. After 3 mins, remove and gently stir the fish sauce, without disturbing the fish. Re-cover and put for another 3 mins and repeat till done. It took about 10 mins to cook the fish through.

Enjoy with rice!

Chutney Pomfret - Do you smell home yet?

Do you know how certain foods and smells have a way of transporting you back in time? This recipe did the same for my husband, Lakshman. A wave of nostalgia hit him reminding him of time spent with friends in cheap, seedy food joints in Bombay, living it up with finger lickin' good food and "quarter" bottle alcohol shared amongst best buddies... :)



Serves 2

2 whole Pomfrets - cleaned (a type of fish popular in India - You can find it in the Asian markets/fish stores in Chicago)
Haldi or Turmeric - 1 tsp
Red chilli poweder - 1.5 tsp
Salt to season
Oil - 1 tbs

For Green Chutney, you need -
1 bunch Cilantro
A couple of sprigs of Mint
1 green chilli - serrano or Thai (you can add more if you like it spicy)
Salt
Juice of half a lime
Hing/Asafoetida - Optional

I got the fish cleaned and prepped at the fish store like in the following picture Make sure there are multiple slits on the body.



Marinate the fish with salt, haldi, red chilli pwd for about 30 minutes.

Make the Green chutney by grinding cilantro, mint, green chilli , salt, lime juice and hing to a thick paste in a blender. Add very little water only if necessary during the grinding process.

After the fish has marinated for 30 minutes, generously spread the green chutney into the slits and body of fish. Let marinate for an additional 5 minutes.

In a skillet, add some oil (I used EVOO). As soon as the oil gets hot, add the fish (one at a time)and let it cook/brown for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Pomfret is a very bony fish with very little flesh - so cooking time is usually quick.

Serve with more fresh green chutney on top, and a side salad. I served mine with some quinoa salad.

Enjoy!!!

Trout en papillote

Serves 2

2 Trouts, gutted and cleaned
1/2 bulb of fennel, thinly sliced
4 thin slices of lime
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 cup white wine
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 crushed and minced clove of garlic
Salt and pepper

• Preheat oven at 375 deg and saute fennel in olive oil and garlic until tender and lightly browned. Season with salt.
• Cut about a foot of parchment paper, fold it into half and cut into shape of a heart.

• Place the fish closer to the center of the paper, season with salt and pepper. Place half of the following - fennel, coriander leaves, chopped tomatoes, red pepper and sliced lime.

• Fold the paper over the fish and fold the edges with short, overlapping folds. Leave a small opening, spoon in half the white wine and olive oil. Carefully, complete folding the packet.

• Place it in a baking sheet and bake for 15 mins.

• Remove and serve with a pair of scissors :)

Baked whole red snapper with potatoes

Source: James Peterson's Fish and Shellfish

Serves 2

1 2lb whole yellow eyed red snapper (sea trout or bass can be used as well)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 large idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8 inch slices
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme or 1/4 tsp dried
Salt and pepper
3 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp of capers or 15 brined black olives, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 400 deg.
2. Coat the bottom of a baking dish large enough to hold the fish with olive oil. Arrange an overlapping layer of potatoes. Sprinkle with half of the garlic and thyme, salt, pepper and some more olive oil. Spread on another layer of potatoes and sprinkle the rest of the garlic and thyme, salt, pepper and olive oil. make another layer if you have more sliced potatoes left.
3. Bake potatoes for 20 mins.
4. In the meantime, wash the fish in cold water. Dry and rub it with olive oil, salt and pepper.
5. Place the fish on top of the potatoes and arrange tomatoes and capers around it. Bake for 30 mins or until the fish is done.

Swordfish in yogurt-cilantro sauce

Source: James Peterson's Fish and Shellfish

Makes 2 generous servings

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 packed cup of fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 packed cup of fresh mint leaves
2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 serrano pepper or thai chilli, coarsely chopped
Salt to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
2 steaks of swordfish or any firm fleshed fish like sea bass

1. Preheat oven to 400 deg.
2. In a food processor - mix yogurt, turmeric, cumin, cilantro, mint, garlic, serrano pepper or thai chilli and salt together.
3. Dip fish steaks in the yogurt-cilantro mixture and place in a baking dish coated in olve oil. Pour the rest of the yogurt mixture over the fish.
4. Bake for about 15 mins until fish is cooked through.
5. Serve immediately.

Romesco

This soup looks fussy but was a surprisingly quick soup to make. I made the fish broth a day in advance.

Source: James Peterson's Splendid Soups

Serves 8

Fish broth - base of the soup

4 pounds of fish bones

2 medium sized onions, sliced

4 shallots sliced

a small bunch of fresh thyme

1 small bunch of parsley

3 cups of dry sherry or white wine

Soup thickener - picada

6 - 1/2" slices of french baguette

1 cup of extra virgin olive oil

1 cup blanched almonds

1 ancho chilli - soaked in boiling water for 20 mins, seeded and coarsely chopped

8 cloves of garlic

salt to taste

To finish the soup

8 fillets of white fish

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 cup picada

salt

pepper

For the fish broth:

1. Soak fish bones in water for 30 mins. Change the water a couple of times to make sure that the fish bones are clean. Thorougly rinse the bones.
2. In a 4-quart pot, combine the bones with all the broth ingredients and add enough water to cover all the bones.
3. Bring the broth to a slow simmer and simmer for 30 mins. Strain the broth.

Picada:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 deg. Place the bread slices on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil on both sides. In a seperate baking dish, spread out the almonds. Toast bread and almonds until the bread and almonds are well toasted.
2. Combine olive oil, ancho chilli, garlic and almonds in a food processor. Process until you get a smooth paste. Add toasted bread and ladle in a few spoon fulls of fish broth. Process until you get a smooth paste. Add salt to taste.

To finish the soup:

1. Heat the olive oil in a 4-quart pot. Add the picada and stir to cook for 2 mins.
2. Pour in 10 cups of fish broth, adjust for salt and bring to a slow simmer.
3. Poach the fish fillets, a few at a time.
4. Serve each fillet in a soup bowl, ladle in the fish soup and garnish with fresh thyme.

Rainbow trout with coriander and lemon

Serves 2 very hungry people

2 Rainbow trouts gutted and cleaned off eyeballs, gills, etc.

1 big bunch of corainder - chopped fine packed into 2 cups

1 lemon sliced into 1/4" thick discs

1 1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 green chillies, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 375 deg. Mince coriander, garlic and chillies together. Use salt to help mince. Stuff the fish with this mix and pace atleast 2-3 lemon discs in it. Bake the fish in an oiled roasting pan for about 10 mins. Then move the pan into the broiler for 3 mins until the fish is lightly browned.
2. I served it with quinoa and french lentil soup.

Madras Fish Curry

Source: 50 Great Curries of India by Camellia Panjabi

4-5 tilapia fillets (I cut each fillet into 2 large pieces)
1 cup fresh coconut
1 1/2" piece ginger
6 cloves of garlic
2-3 tomatoes, diced
2 onions, chopped
3 tsp poppy seeds, crushed
1/2 tsp tamarind pulp
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
10 curry leaves
1 tsp coriander pwdr
1/2 tsp turmeric pwdr
2 tsp chilli pwdr
3/4 tsp fenugreek seeds and 3/4 tsp cumin seeds, pounded together
Oil

Marinate the fish with turmeric and a little salt for 30 mins.
In a blender, put the grated coconut, ginger, garlic, tomatoes and poppy seeds. Do not add water (the tomatoes should have plenty of juice) and grind to form a smooth paste. I whirred mine 2-3x to make sure it was smooth.
Soak the tamarind ball with some hot water in a separate cup. Strain and set aside the juice.
In a shallow broad-based pan, heat the oil and when hot add mustard seeds. They wil start spluttering soon. At this time add the cut onions and fry until lightly colored. Add the curry leaves and this will let out a lovely aroma. When the onions have started browning, turn the heat down low and add turmeric, coriander and chilli pwdrs and stir. Let these cook for 1-2 mins while stirring, so as not to burn it.
Next, add the coconut mixture and saute for 3-4 mins. Add the tamarind water, salt to taste, and a further 2 cups of water (more if you desire a watery curry). Bring to a boil, and then slowly add the tilapia fillets. Turn the heat to low at this time. Sprinkle with a mixture of the fenugreek and cumin seeds. Cover and cook till fish is done; mine took about 15 minutes.

The dish tasted delicious accompanied by white rice. Also, if this curry is made 3-4 hours before eating, the flavors of the spices seep into the fish better. It tasted even better the next day!

Green Coconut Fish Curry

Serves 3-4

3-4 fillets of catfish/ tilapia cut into large pieces (i had about 15 pieces)

1 large onion

2-3 green chillies

4 cloves garlic

1 bunch cilantro

1/2 cup grated coconut

1 tsp jeera (cumin) powder

1 tbsp dhania (coriander) powder

Salt

Pepper

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tbsp olive oil

Marinate the fish pieces with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Leave aside for about 1/2 hour.

Throw all the remaining ingredients in a blender and grind to a fine paste, adding 1-1 1/2 cups of water.

In a pan, heat the olive oil and add the cilantro-onion paste to it. Add a pinch of salt, as this allows the paste to cook faster. When the color turns from a bright green to a dull green, this should signal that the paste is cooked. Mine took about 15 minutes. Add 1/2 cup more water if you think the curry is getting too dry. At this point, add the fish pieces slowly into the bubbling paste. Cover, turn the heat to low and let the fish cook for about 10 minutes. Check for salt, and add as needed. When the fish is cooked, it may flake easily, so stir with caution!

We ate it with a simple vegetable pulao....and let out a satisfied sigh at the end of a long work week...

Meen (Fish) Curry

Thanks to my dearest Lakshmi for this delicious, authentic Kerala treat!

Tilapia- 3 fillets cut into approximately 9 pieces
3 green chillies
2" piece of ginger (finely chopped)
1 tsp chilli pwdr
1/2 tsp turmeric pwdr
1 tsp coriander pwdr
2 pieces kokum
8 curry leaves
1 small red onion
1 smal cup coconut milk
1 tsp mustard seeds
3 cups water
salt to taste

Take 3 cups water in a medium size pot and add green chillies, cut ginger, chilli pwdr, turmeric, coriander, kokum, and salt into the water. When water starts to boil, drop pieces of fish into it and cook the fish till cooked. At this time, add 1 cup of thick coconut milk into the curry and reduce the flame to low. In a separate frying pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they start spluttering, add curry leaves and finely chopped onion. Fry till brown, and add this into the simmering coconut milk fish curry. Allow one final boil of all the ingredients together.

Best enjoyed with white rice, South Indian papad and pickle!