Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

My Mom is visiting us from India and she is a fabulous cook. I have been asking her to cook a lot of things I never do so I can take pictures and write the recipes down. It has been a nice break for me this summer- not having to cook all the time in order to secure recipes and ideas for this blog. One of the things on my list was fish curry. I make one with coconut milk and mustard seeds. This one is a North Indian version of it- what I mean is – the spices used in this dish are very different than what you would get in the South, East or West of India. This is what we would call a ‘Punjabi’ recipe. Punjab is a state in North India- that is where my parents are from.

This dish starts with a very mild flavored fish- tilapia. We marinated it simply with salt, lemon juice and ajwain. Ajwain seeds smell and taste very much like thyme but are a lot more pungeont. It gives the fish a very distinctive flavor. Mostly all fish dishes in North India are flavored with ajwain.

The marinated fish is then sauteed in a bit of olive oil and browned on both sides. The sauce or the gravy for this dish takes the most time to make. Onion, garlic and ginger and processed and then cooked with tomatoes and other spices till all the moisture in the vegetables has cooked out. This takes a lot of patience and about half an hour of standing in front of the stove and stirring consistently- but the end result is worth it. The process yields a rich and deliciously cooked sauce. The browned fish pieces are added to the sauce and served with rice.

The dish was very nicely spiced with the ajwain seeds- which is a very strong flavor- a little goes a long way. The dish was not cooked with a lot of pepper or chilies but that can be changed according to taste. Overall it’s a great dish to make for a large crowd, especially since it is quite affordable.

We enjoyed the fish curry with a raisin pulao (recipe coming up soon) and a cucumber salad (recipe coming as well). Of course there was wine- white wine was enjoyed by all.

• 1 large white onion, rough chopped
• 10 garlic cloves
• 3 inch piece of ginger
• 1/3 cup extra light olive oil
• 2 teaspoons ajwain
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 3 cups fish or chicken stock
• Salt
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon turmeric

Process the onion, garlic and ginger till smooth. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the ajwain seeds. Saute for 30 seconds or till the seeds begin to sizzle. Add the processed onion mixture and sauté on a medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes making sure the mixture does not stick to the pan and burn. Add the tomato puree and sauté for another 10 to 15 minutes on medium heat. Add the fish or chicken stock, mix well, and bring to a boil. Simmer the sauce on medium heat for 15 minutes. Add the cayenne pepper and salt. Keep aside.

• 2 pounds tilapia, cut into 3 to 4 inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Juice of one lemon

Add the tilapia pieces in a mixing bowl and add the salt, garlic powder and lemon juice. Mix well and keep aside for 30 minutes.

• 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dry fenugreek (kasuri methi) for garnish

In a large non-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil and brown the fish pieces in small batches. About 30 seconds on each side or till golden brown. Add the browned fish pieces into the simmering sauce. Cook for about 5 minutes and adjust seasoning. Garnish with dry fenugreek. Serve with rice.