FISH IN TOMATO AND COCONUT GRAVY

FISH IN TOMATO AND COCONUT GRAVY

INGREDIENTS

1 Kilo Fish, Cut into Chunks

3 Medium Sized Onions

3 Medium Sized Tomatoes

1 Tbsp Ginger and Garlic Paste

1 Tbsp Tomato Paste

2 tsps Chilli Powder

1 tsp Turmeric Powder

1 Cup Coconut Cream

2 or 3 pieces of Cinnamon Sticks

5 Cloves

10 pieces of Whole Black Peppercorn

Salt

Some Lime or Lemon Juice

1 tsp Garam Masala

1 Cup Cooking Oil

DIRECTIONS

1) Sprinkle some salt, a little turmeric powder and a little chilli powder. Add about 2 tablespoons of lime or lemon juice over and toss. Make sure all the spices and lime juice is cover the fish well. Cover and set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes

2) Roughly chop the onions and boil in a little water for a few minutes. Remove the onions from the water and liquidise to a paste. Peel and roughly chop the tomatoes and liquidise these too to a paste. 

3) Place a wide saucepan on heat. Pour in the oil and toss in the whole spices. Let it heat a bit and then add the onion paste. 

4) Saute the onion paste until it begins to dry up and you can see the oil separating.  Add the ginger and garlic paste. Stir and cook on high heat for a couple of minutes

5) Add the tomate puree, tomato paste along with the chilli powder and turmeric powder. Stir well, add half a cup of water, cover, reduce the heat and leave to simmer for a few minutes

6) Uncover, raise the heat and keep stirring for a further few minutes until the gravy starts to concentrate and the oil separates. Add about 1 level teaspoon of salt or less. Remember that the fish is salted already so be careful about the amount of salt you add to the gravy.

7) Reduce the heat and lay out the marinated pieces of fish in the gravy. From this point on...do not stir. Grip the saucepan with your mittens and carefully swirl the saucepan. Cover and let cook on low heat for 3 minutes. Uncover the pan and using tongs, flip each piece of fish over cover again for the second side to cook for 3 minutes.

8) Remove saucepan from the heat. Pour in the coconut cream. Grip the sides of the pan again and swirl to distribute the cream evenly.  Sprinkle the Garam Masala over.

9) Place the saucepan back on heat and let it simmer, uncovered for 2 minutes. Drop in some slit green chillies if you wish and sprinkle over chopped cilantro. I did not have any at hand so the dish looks incomplete :(

Serve with Cassava cooked in coconut milk or with boiled rice or roti or chapati or naan. 

SERVING SUGGESTION