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Indian Fish Curry

Fish Curry with Sole

This recipe is inspired by a bengali fish curry. It doesn’t have any tomatoes or yogurt as a base for the gravy. It is mostly flavored with spices including mustard seeds and onion seeds- which is one of my favorite combinations. It is quite simple and quick to make…

  • 2 pounds fish fillets, (any white fish will do)
  • Juice of one lemon
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 2 teaspoons salt

Marinate the fish fillets with the lemon juice, turmeric and salt.

  • 4 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 2 teaspoons kalonji (onion seeds)
  • 2 tablespoons garlic, grated
  • 2 tablespoons ginger, grated
  • 2 medium yellow onions, chopped fine
  • 2 teaspoons coriander powder
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 cups water, fish or chicken broth
  • Salt

Heat a non stick pan with the 2 tablespoons coconut oil. Saute the fish pieces briefly on high heat. Keep aside. Add the leftover oil from the non-stick pan to a saucepan and add the remaining coconut oil. Heat the pan and add the mustard and onion seeds on medium heat. Saute for a minute. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onions, coriander powder and bay leaf. Saute for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the liquid and salt and bring to a boil. Add the fish pieces and simmer for a few minutes till the fish is cooked through but not over done. Check for seasonings and serve with rice.

North Indian Fish Curry

Fish Curry

  • 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.
Fish Curry Masala

  • 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.
Fish Curry Saute

South Indian Fish Curry

South Indian Fish Curry We were in the city on a Monday for lunch and as usual even after a delicious meal- I was thinking about what to cook for dinner. I asked my husband for ideas and he suggested some thing South Indian. I reminded him Mondays are my busy day since our daughter has some activities after school and we don’t get home until about 6 PM. I don’t get a lot of time to cook and my daughter is super hungry when we get home. So, I need to prepare something in the afternoon and put it together quickly once we get home.

I ended up making a South Indian style fish curry- I happened to have cod in the freezer which I took out as soon as I got home. I processed shallots and ginger together. I roasted cumin, fenugreek and mustard seeds and ground them up. The spice mixture holds the key to this curry- it gives it great flavor.

I marinated the fish with some shredded coconut, tamarind concentrate, coriander powder, cayenne pepper, turmeric and salt. Remember to keep the fish in the fridge and only marinate for an hour. The rest was easy- I started with sauteing the shallots and curry leaves and then added the spice mix. I then added the coconut milk and fish stock.

The curry was delicious, especially with the Indian style polenta- yes, you read it correctly.. recipe to follow tomorrow…
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Cochin – Day Two

Day two started with a buffet breakfast filled with Western and South Indian dishes. The best part for me was the coffee- yes I know I keep going on and on about it but I do love it. We walked by the ocean for a while and took a three wheeler to another part where we were looking for a place called Grand Hotel. Before reaching the hotel we stopped at a spice market filled with peppercorns, cardamoms, coffee, vanilla beans and ginger candy. I bought a bunch of stuff and headed to the hotel. It was a modest space with a large restaurant.  The food was supposed to be outstanding with extremely reasonable prices. We found the place and walked in. We had also read about a specific fish curry called karimeen. It is a back water fish and was highly recommended. We ordered the fish masala, a prawn curry and bread. I had glass of fresh lime soda- which is essentially lemonade made with club soda instead of water. As we waited for the meal, I noticed everyone enjoying their food around us. Finally the food came.. the fish curry was the best we have ever had. It was a perfect combination of onions, ginger, garlic, mustard seeds and curry leaves. It was a whole fish and we got busy trying to get every bit and avoiding the small, sharp bones. It was an amazing dish. The prawn curry was good but the fish took the cake- so to speak.

Karimeen Fish Prawn Curry

Kerela Parantha

Dinner was at Malabar Junction, a restaurant in Hotel Malabar House. I opted for the tasting menu- a seven course, long meal. The first two courses were okay, a bit bland. I asked our server to make my food spicy- I reminded him I was Indian and could handle whatever came my way. The next few courses were nicely spiced and delicious. The sixth course stood out – it was fish biryani and spiced yogurt. It was delicious, flavored rice with delicate morsels of fish. The dessert was stewed fruit in a Napoleon shape with a sorbet. It was a good ending to the meal but the fish curry from the afternoon stood out as the clear winner.

Kerela Fish Curry Stewed Fruit

India- Day One in Cochin

It my first time here in the south western part of India in Kerala. We are in Cochin right by the Arabian sea. I have been looking forward to this trip as I have never been south of Mumbai. The culture, language and food are completely different down here. In fact the common language is English. We reached here yesterday afternoon after a 4 hour flight and an hour long drive to our small, boutique hotel nestled by the ocean. I can see the boats and ferries passing by from our room- it is quite beautiful. We arrived exhausted from our journey and as we walked to our room, I noticed they had a massage center. Perfect.. I booked a massage and went down for a snack of fried fish pieces sauteed in curry leaves and a big pot of South Indian coffee. The coffee here is delicious- very different from the coffee I have back home. It is nuttier and not as complex as some of the other coffees. I love it- it is served with the milk cooked right into the hot beverage. I was happy and looking forward to my massage.

Fried Fish South Indian Coffee

In the evening we headed into the town and walked around looking at all the stores filled with spices and lots of silk handicrafts. I can’t wait to go back and buy some peppercorns and cardamom. We found a local seafood restaurant called Oceanos restaurant. Most local restaurants don’t serve beer or wine- so we had a delicious ginger lime soda. They brought a glass with a bit of lime and ginger concentrate with a bottle of club soda and a little container of simple syrup.

From the menu we ordered a green mango shrimp curry, a Kerala chicken curry, lemon rice and an appam (local bread). The mango shrimp curry was amazing- great combination of savory and sour. We asked for the curries to be medium spicy as my husband doesn’t do spicy. I asked for a pickle on the side to make it spicier for me- the pickle was amazing. The food was really good and so was the dessert- it was panna cotta with honey figs- absolutely delicious. Somehow I was not expecting to eat a panna cotta in South India. The South Indian coffee was amazing- as usual. As we finished, the chef came out and asked how everything was. We complemented him and asked about the mango pickle. He promptly went into the kitchen and filled a jar of it and refused to take any money for it.

The people are amazingly friendly and super nice. There is a large Portuguese influence down here. Lots of seafood and beef as well- which is different than the rest of the country. Stay tuned for tomorrows adventure…