Roasted Catfish

Fish can be roasted in many different ways. Today I chose to keep the ingredients to the minimum and let the taste of the fish take the center stage. Catfish steaks were marinated in ginger garlic paste, red chili powder and lemon juice for two hours. I roasted them in my newly bought cast iron pan. It gave the fish a beautiful golden color and a wonderful roasted flavor.


Ingredients:
6 catfish steaks
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 tsp chili powder (adjust to taste)
½ tsp turmeric
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt to taste

Marinate fish with all the ingredients and leave in the refrigerator for two hours.

Heat pan with 1 – 2 tbsp of oil.

Place fish in the pan and let them roast on medium heat for 5 – 8 minutes.

Gently flip them on to the other side.

Let them cook for another 5 – 8 minutes.

Increase the heat and roast for a minute on each side.

Note: ½ to 1 tsp of garam masala can be added to the marinade to increase the spice level. Coriander powder and cumin powder are other interesting choices.

Scrambled Tilapia

After a very long break, today I am back with an easy to make, nutritious recipe. Steamed and flaked Tilapia fillets are sautéed with onions, ginger garlic and garam masala. Lemon juice and cilantro are added at the end for added flavor and aroma. Kids love this easy to eat boneless fish fry.


Ingredients:

1 lb Tilapia fillets
1 medium onion chopped fine
3 – 4 green chilies (optional)
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
½ tsp garam masala
1 tsp red chili powder (adjust to taste)
½ tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
Juice of one lemon
Cilantro for garnishing

Tampering:

½ tsp mustard
½ tsp cumin
2 red chilies broken
Few curry leaves

Steam fillets in steamer of pressure cooker for 8 minutes. Do not over cook, they should be soft and moist not hard and dry.

In the mean time heat oil in a pan, add tampering, followed by onions and green chilies.

When onions are about half way cooked add turmeric, chili powder, salt and ginger garlic paste.

Transfer the fish fillets from the steamer into a bowl and scramble them with a fork.

Add fish to the pan when onion, ginger and garlic are well cooked. Sauté for 2 minutes and add garam masala.

Sauté for another 2 minutes, and remove from the flame.

Add lemon juice and cilantro.


Scrambled Tilapia tastes wonderful with rice or roti.

Note: Do not let red chili powder and garam masala over power the taste of the fish. Use them scarcely. For fresh garam masala powder 4 cloves, ½ inch cinnamon, 1 tsp poppy seeds, 1 tbsp coriander seeds.

Tilapia Curry

Tilapia is one of the few fishes we eat. I used two medium sized tilapias to make two different dishes, tilapia pulusu (fish in tamarind sauce) and tilapia curry, with a little variation. As you can see in the pictures I used the thick steak like pieces for the pulusu and thin flat pieces for the curry.

Tilapia is simmered in a fine blend of spices, onion and ginger garlic paste along with tamarind sauce for the delicious, spicy and tangy pulusu. Tilapia is cooked in ginger, garlic and onion paste along with spices for the delectable curry.

Tilapia Pulusu

Ingredients
8 – 10 good size fresh tilapia pieces
1 large onion blended
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 tsp red chili powder (adjust to taste)
½ tsp turmeric
2 tbsp oil
Walnut sized tamarind
Salt to taste

Garam Masala
6 cloves
1 inch cinnamon
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 cardamom
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds

Tampering
1 red chili broken
½ tsp mustard
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp fenugreek
Spring of curry leaves

Blend the ingredients under garam masala into a fine powder.

Soak tamarind in ¼ cup of warm water.

Heat oil in a wide pan. Add tampering, when mustard starts to pop, add onion ginger and garlic paste. Sauté for 4 to 5 minutes.

Add chili powder, turmeric, salt and the garam masala powder. Sauté for couple more minutes on medium heat. Place tilapia pieces next to each other and let them simmer for two minutes. Gently flip each piece and let simmer for two more minutes.

Squeeze about 1 to 1 ½ cups of juice from the soaked tamarind.

Add tamarind juice to the pan. Let it cook for 5 minutes on medium.

Leave it to simmer on low flame for another 15 - 20 minutes.

A mouthwatering tilapia pulusu is ready.



Tilapia curry

Ingredients
1 lb Tilapia pieces
1 large onion blended
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 ½ tsp red chili powder (adjust to taste)
¼ tsp turmeric
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Garam Masala
6 cloves
1 inch cinnamon
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 cardamom
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds

Tampering
1 red chili broken
½ tsp mustard
½ tsp cumin
Spring of curry leaves


Blend the ingredients under garam masala into a fine powder.

Heat oil in a wide pan. Add tampering, when mustard starts to pop, add onion ginger and garlic paste. Sauté for 4 to 5 minutes.

Add chili powder, turmeric, salt and the garam masala powder. Sauté for couple more minutes on medium heat. Place tilapia pieces next to each other and let them simmer for two minutes. Gently flip each piece and let simmer for two more minutes.

If there is enough moisture from the fish let it simmer on low flame for 15 to 20 minutes. Or add ¼ cup of water and let it simmer.

Tilapia curry tastes heavenly when eaten with hot rice.

Tips: Garam Masala can be replaced with ½ to 1 tsp of pre-made masala powder.

Spicy Shrimp Curry

This shrimp curry has been a regular dish in my home all my life. It is one of my most favorite dishes. Shrimp are simmered in freshly ground spices, ginger garlic and onion. Tamarind adds the extra zing to an already flavor packed dish. Spice lovers can be generous with chili powder, it complements the shrimp very well.

For this recipe I prefer fresh shell on shrimp to frozen ones. Most of my recipes have freshly ground spices. It may seem tedious to many but if you have a good blender, the couple extra minutes you spend to make fresh masala is well worth it.

This is a great dish for family dinners or when you have company, it is sure to draw many praises

Ingredients:
2 lbs fresh shell on shrimp
1 onion coarsely blend
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp turmeric
Pulp from lemon sized tamarind ball
3 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

For garam masala:
10 cloves
2 inch cinnamon
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds

For seasoning:
½ tsp mustard
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp fenugreek
1 red chili
Curry leaves

De shell and de vein the shrimp. Clean them thoroughly.

Place shrimp in a saucepan along with 2 tsp of oil, ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chili powder and 1 tsp salt.

Cook on medium to high flame until the shrimp curl and loose the transparent look. Set it aside.

Grind masala into fine powder, mix it with ginger garlic paste and coarsely blend onion. Set is aside.

Heat the remaining oil in a sauce pan, add seasoning followed by masala ginger garlic and onion. Sauté for 5 to 10 mins until the onion looses its raw smell. Add turmeric, chili powder and salt.

Add the semi cooked shrimp, sauté for few more minutes.

Add tamarind and let it simmer on low heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until the oil separates.

This shrimp curry when eaten with steaming hot rice, each and every bite is a pure joy.

Tips: A tbsp of home made yogurt and tsp of salt can aid you further in cleaning the shrimp.
For grinding the masala start with a clean dry jar, grind dry masala followed by ginger garlic and then onion. The whole process takes just few mintues and you will end up with only one jar to clean. I use sumeet with its smallest jar for this job.

Baked Salmon

I am very picky when it comes to eating fish. Back in India I loved fish cooked in spicy gravy. After moving to US the only fish I ever bought was catfish. Over the years I tried couple other fishes but they didn’t appeal to me, so went back to eating only catfish.

I have heard a lot about how healthy salmon is. After hesitating a lot, finally decided to give it a try. Initially I marinated it with Indian tikka masalas along with ginger, garlic and yogurt.

Recently, this Italian seasoning sitting in my pantry made me try this new recipe. I added whatever I felt like adding. The result was a tender moist salmon which became an instant family favorite.



3 one inch thick Salmon steaks
2 tsp Italian herb seasoning
4 tsp grated garlic
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp white vinegar
2 tsp lemon juice
6 tsp extra light olive oil
4 tsp cilantro finely chopped
Salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients and marinate fish in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Place the salmon in a baking dish and cover it with foil.

Bake it at 350 degrees for 45 mins.

Remove foil and bake for another 10 mins at 450 degrees to evaporate the juices.

Tender and moist salmon with a side of salad or steamed vegetables tastes great.