Threw together a generic curry this afternoon… cumin, mustard seed, ground ginger, chilli powder, salt, turmeric, coconut milk, curry leaves, onions, garlic, tomato.
Matilda scolded me for putting in too much turmeric. Only a little is necessary for color. Its main purpose is to absorb (or numb?) bad smells or flavors. So I fried up more cumin and mustard seed to balance it out better. I made the sauce quite thick. Not water-runny.
I bought a nice fresh whole sea bream at Tekka. They sliced it into two skin-on fillets and the head. I transferred the sauce to a roasting pan, put it on a low heat and, essentially, poached the fish in the curry for fifteen minutes or so. I didn’t want the fish torn apart by violent cooking.
Sea Bream poaching
Side dishes? I made a runny raita-style coriander/yogurt/garlic sauce and made pickles out of lemon peel. Similar to curry… fry up mustard seeds, curry leaves, chilli powder, a bit of dal, and white wine vinegar. Then after that’s fried up and commingled, toss in several diced-up lemons. The lemon mostly disappears and the skin remains, which is the nice part. The rind is just firm enough and has good flavor to contrast fish curry and rice.
Coriander raita (top) and lemon pickles (bottom)
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