“South India deals most magnificently with sea fish, while Bengalis are kings of the river fish. Sea fish are strong and robust and can take the brave and sassy ingredients of tomato, treacle, ginger and garlic. This recipe is great with any fish or indeed any white meat. It is a good basic South Indian sauce to have up your sleeve to make interesting the blandest of flesh.” – Nisha Katona, Mowgli Street Food Kitchen Founder
Preparation: 10 mins
Cooking: 20 mins
SERVES 2
Ingredients
2 green cardamom pods, crushed#
2.5cm piece of fresh root ginger
2 garlic cloves
1 small cinnamon stick
4 skinned salmon fillets
½ lemon
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small green chilli, pierced
1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
200g canned chopped tomatoes
¼ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp black treacle
100g spinach, washed and shredded
juice of ½ lemon
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp pomegranate seeds
½ bunch of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
Method
In a large pot set over a high heat, add the cardamom pods, ginger, garlic, cinnamon stick and 1 litre water and bring up to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and add the salmon, ensuring it is completely covered with the liquid. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for 5 minutes or until the salmon is cooked through and tender. Remove the salmon from the liquid and set aside to cool.
Put the vegetable oil in a large non-stick frying pan and set over a medium-high heat. When hot, add the green chilli and yellow mustard seeds and fry until the seeds pop and turn dark brown. Turn the heat down to medium and add the chopped tomatoes, ground turmeric, chilli powder and black treacle and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
Add the spinach, lemon juice and salt. Once the spinach has wilted down (about 3 minutes), add the poached salmon and cook for 5 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked through.
Finish with the pomegranate seeds and fresh coriander just before serving
Mowgli Street Food: Stories and recipes from the Mowgli Street Food restaurants, by Nisha Katona. © Nourish Books, 2018. Hardback, £25. Commissioned photography © Yuki Sugiura
