Mom was a great vegetarian cook, with minimal ingredients mom would turn boring veggies into flavorful meals. Preparing a vegetarian meal was her prime. Her non-veg meals were always tales. She would add oregano and call it Italian, or she would add soy sauce and call it Chinese - we would joke that she was making the same dish just adding a different herb or sauce to call it something else.
There were, however, some meat and seafood dishes that she would cook that were scrumptious. One such dish was her masala fish. Slowed cooked in a masala base, this rich in flavor fish dish melts in your mouth and has you going back for seconds.
I recently made this for the family, and it was a hit. It was different from the Asian flared fish dishes my family finds me gravitating toward. Despite the complex flavors, this meal uses only a few ingredients. It creates a subtle gravy with fish that is coated with masalas and brought together with the fresh cilantro.
My mom generally uses King Mackerel fish, but I have found that most white fillets will work. I used Basa because it was the only fish available at the store when I went and at under $10 for almost two pounds, the price could not be beat. The Basa is a nice thicker white fillet, and I usually like to pre-treat the fish with some lemon juice - and as such I made that minor tweak to my mom's recipe.
Aside from the lemon juice, I followed mom's recipe to a T and it was super easy and quick. I served this with white Jasmine rice. But it can also be served with some form of flatbread. Give this recipe a try the next time you are looking for an easy Indian style fish dish.
Basa on white rice topped with a masala paste.
Recipe
Yield: 4 servings
Time: Prep: 20 min; Cook: 25 min
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- 4 fillets of a thick white fish like cod, halibut or even basa
- 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon of avocado oil
- 2 medium shallots
- 1 large tomatoes
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 inch piece of ginger
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of garam masala powder
- 3/4 teaspoon of coriander powder
- 1 cup of water
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Directions
Prep
- Rinse the fillets, salt and set aside for 5 minutes, then rinse the salt off an pat dry
- Apply a the lemon juice among all the fillets
- Grate the ginger and garlic
- Chop the shallots
- Chop the tomatoes
Cook
- Heat the avocado oil on medium to low flame
- Add the shallot and cook until slightly browned
- Add the ginger and garlic, mix well and cook until fragrant
- Add the chopped tomato, masalas but do not mix
- Add 1/4 cup of water around the internal edge of the pan
- Cover and cook on low for about 10 minutes, checking periodically to prevent burning
- Mix the masala mixture, mashing the ingredients to form a chunky paste like consistency
- Add 1/2 cup of water and mix to incorporate
- Add the four fillets and scope some the chunky masala paste to cover the tops of the fillet
- Cook the fillets on low for about 10 minutes, gently turning each fillet 1-2 times
- Add the remaining 1/4 cup of water and cook for another 5 minutes
- Turn the stove off and add sprinkle the chopped cilantro on the top
Serve
- Serve with white rice or roti
KEYWORDS: basa, halibut, cod, king mackerel, fish, masala fish, slow cooked fish, Indian fish, Indian mom's fish recipe, Sindhi mom's fish recipe