Bengali Mustard Fish

Anjum labels this as a classic and "absolutely terrific." I could not agree more; although I never heard of this before it is something I could see making again and again.

The ingredients include:
450 g of halibut steaks - whole or quartered
3/4 tsp of tumeric
salt to taste
1 1/2 small tomatoes
3 "fat" garlic cloves
4-5 green chillies (preferably Indian finger)
1 1/2 tbsp powdered brown mustard seeds (Lisa and I debated this over dinner and it seems like one might be able to use country mustard?)
4 tbsp mustard or vegetable oil
1 1/4 tsp nigella seeds
a handful of corriander leaves (fresh)

The fish is marinated in the tumeric, while the sauce is made. The tomatoes, garlic, and 2-3 chillies should be blended. The oil is added to a pan, nigella seeds added, sizzled for 10 seconds, and then the tomato-chilli-mustard paste is added. The sauce is cooked over a moderate flame so that the excess moisture is cooked off. Reduce the heat to darken the sauce. Add 400 ml of water and add the rest of the chillies, bring to a boil and simmer for 7-8 minutes. Look for the right consistency, i.e. not too soupy. The fish should be fried in a separate pan and then added to the mustard sauce - bringing that back to a boil for a couple of minutes (this will allow the fish to really absorb the sauce). The corriander leaves are added at the end.

We've made a lot of fish dishes and this one is quite near the top of the list.

Time for the Curries!

We are now well into Project Paratha but have yet to venture fully into the curry terrain.  Last Sunday I found myself in London Heathrow killing time by browsing the book stores there.  I came across this lovely title, I heart Curry by Anjum Anand.  Anjum was the popular presenter of BBC2's Indian Food Made Easy.  This text contains about 50 curry recipes from different parts of India which are served up in a straightforward manner.  What a perfect entree for us into curry realm of our project.  She put's her finger on something key in the introduction, noting that is all too common for some to refer to Indian food generally as "curries" or to reference eating at an Indian restaurant as "going for a curry."  When I lived on the East Coast of the U.S. in a small city this was common there too and surprisingly culturally narrow in thought.  The book starts with Anjum's 5 secrets to making a great curry: (1) starting with whole spices - heating them in a pan to release their flavours; (2) using an onion base; (3) employing a garlic or ginger paste; (4) adding the ground spices; and (5) employing some tomatoes and/or yogurt which will add some soft texture/creaminess and slightly sour bite.  Tonight Lisa made a wonderful Bengali Fish Curry from the recipe in the book.  We'll add a separate post for that.  

Cheers.  Michael