Dish of Fish in Yogurt Sauce
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Fish in Yogurt Sauce


India - Bengal   -   Dahi Machi

Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  
3 main
***
1 hr
Yes
This slightly tart, softly spiced fish dish will be no problem for people unaccustomed to spicy food.

1
ar
12
3/4
------
1/2
3
1/8
1/2
------
ar
1-1/2
3/4
------
2
1

#

oz
in
---
in

t
t
---

T
c
---
T

Fish Fillets (1)  
Rice Flour
Onion
Ginger root
-- Spice mix
Cinnamon
Cloves
Turmeric
Salt
----------
Oil for Fry
Oil
Yogurt (2)
-- Garnish
Cilantro
Chili, green

Prep   -   (25 min)
  1. Cut FISH into pieces about 1-1/2 inch by 1-1/2 inches or whatever works with your fish.
  2. Chop ONION fine.
  3. Slice GINGER very thin and chop fine.
  4. Grind together Cinnamon and Cloves in your spice grinder. Mix all Spice mix items.
  5. Chop CILANTRO medium. Chop whatever kind and amount of GREEN CHILI you want and mix with Cilantro.
Run     -   (35 min)
  1. Lightly dust the Fish pieces with rice flour.
  2. In a well seasoned iron skillet, heat about 1/16 inch of Oil and fry fish until lightly browned, turning once. Fry in batches so the pan isn't crowded and add oil if needed. Drain and set aside.
  3. In a spacious sauté pan heat 1-1/2 T Oil and fry Onions stirring until an even medium golden color, then stir in the Ginger and fry another minute. Stir in Spice Mix for another 15 seconds or so, then stir in Yogurt and turn off heat.
  4. Run Onion Sauce in a food processor until quite smooth.
  5. Return Onion Sauce to the sauté pan, bring to a simmer, adjusting liquid as needed (the onions will absorb quite a lot of water and you don't want this too dry). Taste for salt. Evenly distribute the Fish pieces in the pan and bring back to a simmer. Cover and simmer for about 4 minutes until fish is cooked through.
  6. Garnish with Cilantro and Green Chili. Serve hot with plenty of steamed Basmati rice.
NOTES:
  1. Fish:

      The pattern recipe calls for haddock, and another recipe calls for sole, but neither is an Indian fish. amd neither is common here in Southern California. Select fish durable with wet cooking. My favorites are Golden Pompano and Japanese Amberjack, but Cobia, Cod, and Emperor are also fine. Also Catfish, American and Vietnamese (Swai, Basa, Tra). My standard for testing recipes is Tilapia, an "all purpose" fish, but treat it gently. For stronger tasting fish, Indian Mackerel or other Mackerel are good. All these fish often appear in Asian markets here in Los Angeles, particularly Philippine markets. For details see our Varieties of Fish page (very large page).
  2. Yogurt:

      Select a good quality plain whole milk yogurt, and not Greek. Indian yogurts tend to be quite soft and fairly tart.
  3. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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