Fish Recipes

Fishy Affairs

By Rupali Dean

Fish, due to its high protein content, tops the list of healthy meats. There are more than 52 species of edible fish, apart from shellfish, freshwater fish or cured fish, and many more ways of cooking it even though many of us, specially in the north, still fight shy of preparing it at home. Boiling, poaching, streaming, frying, grilling, braising, baking and rosting are some common cocking techniques for fish. Since, fish is relatively easier to cook-it takes much less time be careful not to overcook. The best way to check when done is to pierce the thickest part with a skewer (no fork!); the flesh should be opaque and part easily from the bone. The coastal regions are spoilt for choice, though in the north the best fish to use is the river sole.

 Fish is seasonal and best in winter when it has had time to recover from spawning interestingly, and months is that the month should have an “r”. January through April and September through December. Fish falls into two main categories: flat and round. Flat fish live at the bottom of the ocean buried in the sand. They include lemon coastal sole, turbot, halibut etc. Flat fish are thin and should not be cooked on the bone. Round fish swim huge distance to feed, mate and spawn. It has large chunks of delicious flesh, fantastic for fillets or steak. Round fish include reef cod, Norwegian salmon, sea bass etc.

 When buying fish, avoid anything pre-packaged as it may have absorbent paper in the bottom of the tray, which can suck moisture from the flesh. Ensure that the fish hasn’t been fresh-frozen and then defrosted, because the cells expand when a fish is frozen and on deforesting they collapse as a result forcing out water. The best fish would have eyes, which are clear, and gills that are moist. The skin should shimmer-beware of fish with rainbow hue though, which is a sign of its being old and passing its prime. Finally, near buy a fishy smelling fish.

Grilled fish with hers butter

(Makes 1)

 Fish fillet (Sole): 300 g; white pepper; to taste; salt; to taste; olive oil; 30 ml; lemon juice; 30 ml; broccoli (cut into florets); 40 g; carrots (turned or sliced) potatoes (turned or sliced); 60 g; For the herb butter (Makes about 12 portions; use about 40 ml for one portion): butter: 375 g, white wine: 50 ml; Lemon juice; 50 ml: onion (chopped finely): 100 g; Thyme (chopped finely): 10 g; rosemary (chopped finely): 10 g: basil (Chopped finely): 10 g: parsley (Chopped finely): 10 g.

 Method:

For the herb butter

• Reduce the chopped onions with white wine and lemon juice;
• Cool;
• Mix the chopped onions with herb and soft butter, mix well, roll in a butter paper and refrigerate.

For the Fish

• Clean the fish, marinate with salt, peeper, olive oil and lime juice;
• Steam vegetables and toss in butter;
• Heat butter in a pan;
• Grill the fish over medium heat on both sides;
• Arrange on a plate and serve with the vegetables and herb butter.

Fish Fingers (Make 4)

Fish fillet (river sole) cut into fingers: 500 g: eggs: 1 no; French mustard paste: 15 ml: flour: 30 g: Salt to taste, pepper: to taste: lemon juice: 20 g: fresh crumbs: 250 g: oil: to fry.

Method: 

• Marinate the fish fingers with lemon juice, salt, peeper and mustard:
• Keep refrigerated for two hours;
• Put the egg and flour, Mix well and keep aside;
• Make sure the marinade along with the egg, flour and lemon juice makes a thick better and thinly coasts the fish fingers;
• Remove fingers one by one, make sure the batter is uniformly coasted androll in the crumbs. Fry in moderately hot oil till golden brown and crisp;
• Remove on an absorbent kitchen towel. Serve hot with tartar sauce.

Tip: For enhanced flavour, mix roasted sesame seeds in the crumbs.

Food talk

Fusion fish

Pushpesh Pant brings a recipe from Port Blair which combines other familiar flavours

There was a time when the name Andaman struck terror in the heart. This was kaala paani — the dreaded penal island across dark waters that guaranteed only one-way passage to the convicts. The rustling sea breeze whistles devilishly ‘Abandon hope all you enter here’. Countless patriots, the best and brightest of their generation, perished here, their spirit unbroken and with Vande Mataram on their lips till the last breath.

But today Port Blair is among popular tourist destinations in the country. The Cellular Jail bears eloquent testimony to an era gone by. The demographic profile of these islands reflects an interesting blend. Many locals are descendents of freedom fighters deported from different regions of the mainland. They are no longer Punjabi, Bengali, Malayali, Bihari, Madrasi, Rajasthani or Pathan. Andaman has served as a unique melting pot.

People from Bengal and Kerala communicate with each other happily in Hindi. They also relish dishes alien to their own (traditional household) recipes. We discovered the many charms of post-tsunami kaala paani during a recent trip. It was a great relief to be liberated from the tyranny of tandoori tikka and udupi tiffin. We are sure that these tourist traps must be lurking somewhere but we are happy that their sight did not blight our pleasure. In a small roadside eatery, we found fish Nikobari on the menu. Intrigued by the name, we ordered it immediately. The base was Bengali, the gravy over- laden with coconut owed much to Kerala and the frying of the fish before it was drowned in the creamy sauce brought to mind elements of Amritsari macchi. Who doesn’t know that the north Indians dwelling far from the seaboard don’t actually like to taste fish. What must register on his or her palate is the familiar spice. A good dose of onion garlic ginger pastes provided strong evidence that a hand other than from Nicobar had wielded the ladle in the kitchen. Who are we to complain? The recipe aspires to rekindle nostalgia and local mystique. It is well worth a try. Jai Hind.

FISH NIKOBARI

Ingredients

Fish (preferably boneless bekti/
surmai cut in large chunks) 1 kg
Onion-garlic paste 2 tbsp
Ginger paste 1 tsp
Grated coconut
(desiccated may be used instead) 2 tbsp
Whole red chillies
(soaked in water and ground to paste) two
Bay leaf one
Haldi powder ½ tsp
Dhania powder 1 tsp
Jeera powder 1 tsp
Coconut milk
(thick extract/fresh or reconstituted from powder) ½ cup
Green chillies
(chopped for garnish) two
Oil to deep fry fish and stir fry the masala
Salt to taste

Method
Heat oil in a karahi. When it reaches smoking point, lower flame and fry fish pieces in batches till rich golden brown. Remove and place on kitchen towels to remove excess fat. Heat a little oil in a thick-bottomed pan and place the bay leaf in it. When it changes colour, add the onion garlic and ginger pastes and stir-fry on medium flame. When it changes colour to pink, add the chilli paste along with powdered spices dissolved in a little water to avoid burning. Continue stirring regularly. Add salt, reduce heat to low and carefully stir in the coconut milk ensuring it doesn’t curdle. You may add a little warm water to it. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Carefully place the fried fish and cook for five minutes or less till the gravy is of thick sauce like consistency. Garnish with green chillies and serve.

Courtsy:-:- The Tribune June 22, 2008 Spectrum 

Prawns 
the Punjabi way

Pushpesh Pant dishes out tomato-based prawn makhni masala

 PRAWNS are quintessentially seafood for most of us who dwell in the hinterland. Lobsters, crabs, squids are much too exotic what to speak of octopus and the rest. Oysters and mollusks are nice to look at but there are few landlubbers who can muster courage enough to suck the tasty morsels.  

Even, sea fish is not favoured by those brought up on fresh river produce like rohu. When we were children and had just made acquaintance with crustaceans, what mattered most was the size. Jumbo prawns golden fried in the pretentious Chinese eatery seemed most desirable. The dish was the most expensive one on the menu and this meant that the mouth-watering offering couldn’t be indulged in often. It was saved for special occasions. It was many years later that one could discriminate between shrimps of different ilk. Size doesn’t matter in this case. On the contrary, the smaller, jhingri tastes far better. Even B-grade prawns put to shame the much-touted ‘tigers’. But we digress.

 What concerns us here is the recipe. Some prawn lovers insist that to enjoy this fruit of the sea, it is imperative that there is least interference with nature — minimal cooking, and just a whiff of spicing. This is the school of thought that is happiest with shrimp cocktail, seafood salad etc. Those who are addicted to chilly vinegar-laced Govan balchao can come to blows when asked to concur with such blasphemy. We have come across myriad delicacies, subtle and robust, based on prawns from refreshingly light peppery to cheesy tandoori sparklers, classical dab chingri or mild coconut milk gravy based darlings — all equally satisfying. Buttery loabdar prawns have seldom tempted us. It was only recently that a makhni masala — tomato-based recipe served at a friend’s house forced us to reconsider our opinion. Our hostess, an unabashed Punjabi food lover, scoffed at our pretensions and said we were passing off prejudices as reasoned opinions. The guests all slurped and burped. No one touched the healthier grilled chicken or baked fish that was on the table. So here it is dear friends prawn masala Punjabi. 

Chef’s corner

Ingredients

Prawns (C grade, shelled and de-veined) 500 gm

Garlic paste 1 tsp

Ginger paste 1 tsp

Tomato puree (4 tbsp, if using fresh) 2 tbsp

Kasoori methi (crushed) 1 tsp

Sugar 1/4 tsp

Butter 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

 Method

Wash and pat dry the prawns. Heat the butter in a non-stick pan. Add the garlic and ginger paste and briskly stir-fry for about thirty seconds. Put in the prawns and continue frying on medium flame till the prawns change colour and curl up. Remove the prawns and keep aside to avoid over cooking. Put in the tomato puree along with the sugar, salt and kasoori methi in the pan. Reduce heat and simmer for about five minutes. Stir constantly. Add the prawns simmer to warm. Serve hot with phulka or steamed rice.

The Tribune, Spectrum Sunday, November 9, 2008

Trout with Almonds #3 (microwave) recipe Ingredients

 (Whole fish cook beautifully in a microwave oven and there is less chance of the fish falling apart. They stay moist and flavourful too)

120 g (4 oz) butter
60 g (2 oz) flaked almonds
4 even-sized trout, cleaned
Watercress
Lime slices or wedges

Method

1. Preheat a browning dish according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add half the butter and heat until beginning to brown.
2. Add the almonds and stir to brown slightly Remove the almonds and the browned butter to a dish and set aside.
3. Pat the trout dry. Reheat the browning dish. Melt the remaining butter and, when very hot, add two of the trout and cook on HIGH for 2 minutes.
4. Turn the trout over and cook for a further 2 minutes. Reposition the trout occasionally during cooking. Repeat with the remaining two trout.
5. Serve the trout topped with the almonds and any remaining butter. Garnish with watercress and lime.

Courtesy cookitsimply  

Fish fervour

Pushpesh Pant brings us the magic of the healthy pan-seared or grilled machhali ki katali

WE have made this confession before and are not shy to repeat it once more that we discovered the joys of fishy repast much too late in life and never lose an opportunity to make amends. The notorious ‘bones’ scared us in childhood and hypochondria kept us off this healthy food in adolescence — avoid fish in months that don’t have the letter ‘R’ in their name etc.

Only with the onset of middle age and in company of Bengali and Coastal Kannadiga, Govan and Malayali friends we learnt what we had been missing. Scales fell from our eyes and we began appreciating even the strong smelly species. Often the smell teases and prepares the palate for what is to follow.

Remember the mythical King who traded his throne to marry Matsyagandha — a beauty who exuded an aroma like a fish — mermaid if you please — and could be ‘smelt’ from hundreds of leagues away. But we digress.

The long and short of this is that a whole new world opens up when you stop worrying about disguising the smell of a particular fish or to douse its intrinsic taste with a strong masala that makes everything tastes the same.

The aficionados the world over kiss to make their fish a bliss. Different spices — often minimal — combined with least intrusive cooking-steaming or pan searing wrapped in leaf or gently simmered in stock works magic. For us, the nutritional aspects are a bonus and the quick cooking of the fish is sheer delight.

We have made it a habit to have at least two meals a week when fish is the main course. And let’s assure you we don’t binge on fried Amritsari or Awadhi Kaliya. (Fish fingers, naughty things, do curl up and lead us astray once in a while but we manage to resist most of the time and stay faithful to recipes like the healthy pan-seared or grilled machhali ki katali that we share with our readers this time.

MacHhali  ki  katali 

Ingredients

Fish darnes/fillets (any preferred

fish with firm flesh) 400 gm

Lemon juice 1 tbsp

Honey 1 tsp

Black peppercorns (coarsely and freshly pounded) ½ tsp

Dried mint powder ½ tsp

Oil 2 tbsp Salt

Method
Wash and pat-dry the fish. Mix the lemon juice with honey and salt. Sprinkle over the fish ensuring that it is well coated with the mixture and keep aside for an hour.

Line a non-stick pan with a thin film of oil and heat on a medium flame. Carefully place the fish on it and pan-grill for 2-3 minutes on each side. Sprinkle the pepper and mint just before serving.

Serve with slices of slightly roasted or fresh tomatoes.

Courtesy The Tribune Spectrum, November 15, 2009

Fish on the tawa

EVERYONE — that is everyone who eats fish — has his favourite fix — a special ingredient sarson, ajwain, methi, imli, green chilli-coriander-mint paste or a cooking technique — frying, steaming, pan grilling — that brings the best out in the jal ki rani. Some like it grilled in tandoor, others prefer her draped in banana leaf; there are those who can’t do without bones to chew and countless are fish lovers who can only lavish affection on boneless avatar. Batter — besan or egg — has its own attraction. Kebab, kofta and biryani are rarer but fish cakes of Thai lineage are relished by quite a few.

Then there are khatti machhali, khat mitthi machhali and the exotic musallam and mahi zamidoz from Hyderabad and Awadh that continue to delight. In the hill villages of Uttarakhand, they believe a dash of lemon juice keeps the fish pieces intact — little goes a long way in watery piquant soup and on the western seaboard, a hint of vinegar is not taboo and both in Goa and Mangalore red chilli paste and coconut adorn the fish. It is not easy to make up your mind about what would you like to order or cook.

We consume and are consumed by everything fishy. Our affair with the Pisceans started rather late in life but to tell you the truth, we are more partial to the boneless river variety sole. Chef Manish some time ago, working at the Oriental Octopus, regaled us with a steamed sole in lemon sauce that verged on the sublime and makes us not drool but sigh even now. Nor can we resist a fish tikka whenever it is encountered. The pity is that the fish, far more delicate than the chicken, is often indifferently spiced and comes out poorer after the brutal fire ordeal in the tandoor. This is the reason we tinkered on the tawa till the recipe for tawa machhi tikka was to our mind perfected.

It is not only very easy to cook but also is guaranteed to dazzle.

Tawa  machhi  tikka

Machhali tawa tikka is not only easy to cook but is also sure to tickle the tastebuds 

Ingredients

Sole (boneless fillets

cut into large chunks) 400 gm

Garlic-ginger paste 2 tsp

Green chilli paste 1 tsp

Lemon juice 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil 1tsp

Method
Wash and pat dry the fish tikka. Prepare a marinade by mixing garlic-ginger paste, lemon juice, green chilli paste, along with salt. Apply gently to the fish and keep aside for about an hour in a cold place. Line a non-stick frying pan or shallow karahi. Put the fish in it when the oil is hot. Cook covered for 6-7 minutes — a little over three minutes on each side turning carefully once ensuring that the fish doesn’t break. Enjoy hot. (If you prefer other fish you may substitute it for sole). Mark our words, this recipe works best when nothing is added or subtracted. Stay with firm white fish of best quality and let it talk.

Courtesy: The Tribune, Spectrum, Sunday, May 9, 2010 Pushpesh Pant