Stranger Foods

IndianBengali fish curry

Serves 4 | Prep 10 mins | Cook 25 mins

This is one of my favourite dishes. So much so that when the women in my family gathered around me to cook for me before my wedding day, as is tradition, this is what I requested. I've opted for boneless white fish fillets here, but traditionally it is cooked with the very bony but delicious Hilsa fish, and you can always spot a true Bengali by the way they can navigate their way around the bones!

Source: 30 Minute Mowgli

Ingredients

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600 g haddock or cod loin, skin on, cut into 5 cm pieces
3½ tbsp vegetable oil
1¾ tsp salt
2 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp nigella seeds
1 fat green chilli, pierced a few times with a knife
1 tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp chilli powder
4 heaped tbsps plain yoghurt
½ tbsp English mustard
Juice of ½ lemon
small bunch fresh coriander, leaves and stems chopped
1 tbsp mustard oil, to garnish
Rice, cooked, to serve

Instructions

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Put the haddock or cod loin in a bowl with 1½ tablespoons of the vegetable oil, ¼ teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of the ground turmeric. Use your hands to mix well, ensuring the fish is well coated in the oil and turmeric. Set aside.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large, non-stick pan over a medium-high heat. Add the nigella seeds and cook, stirring, until they start to pop, then add the whole green chilli, ground coriander, chilli powder and remaining teaspoon of ground turmeric, and stir to combine the spices.
Reduce the heat to low, then stir the yoghurt through the spice mixture in the pan. (Don’t worry if the yoghurt splits at this stage.) Add the remaining teaspoon of salt and 300 ml of boiling water and stir through until everything is well combined. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then add the mustard and stir the sauce again to combine. Add the turmeric-coated fish to the pan and stir to combine with the sauce, then leave to cook at a gentle simmer for , until the fish is cooked through.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the lemon juice, to taste. Stir through the fresh coriander and spoon the curry onto serving plates with rice alongside. Drizzle a little mustard oil over each serving of curry before serving.

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