Teriyaki salmon

When it comes to different Asian cuisines, I have many favorites. One of them is the Japanese teriyaki chicken or fish. Learning how simple it is to make the teriyaki sauce, I definitely wished to try my hand at it. I wish to cook something ‘new’, try new recipes and techniques for holidays and special occasions, and making the teriyaki salmon seemed perfectly fitted for one such. What is a better way to celebrate than trying something new with my favorite fish? The pan-fried salmon basted with the salty-sweetish teriyaki sauce was yummy. With a simple side of shredded carrot, it was delicious and refreshing lunch.

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:
(Serves 2)

2 skinned salmon fillets (~180g each)
Marinade:
1/3cup Japanese soy sauce
1/3cup mirin
2tbsp sake
1/2tbsp sugar

Side:
1/2cup shredded carrot
2tbsp sushi vinegar
1sp lemon rind
1sp black sesame seed

METHOD:

1.      Mix together the soy sauce, mirin, and sake to prepare the teriyaki marinade. Marinate the salmon fillets in the sauce for 10 minutes, turning over the fillets once in between so that both sides are soaked in the sauce.

2.      Remove the fillets from the marinade. Set the marinade aside for later use.

3.      Heat a greased pan. Put the salmon fillets and hold them down gently. Pan-fry the salmon fillets on medium heat, brushing with the marinade occasionally. When the fish is fried to almost desired doneness, flip over and fry a minute more.

4.      In the meantime, bring the reserve marinade to boil. Then simmer until the sauce thickens.

5.      Serve the salmon drizzled with sauce.

Shredded carrot:

1.      Shred the carrot. Soak it in iced water for 15 minutes. Drain well.

2.      Add the black sesame seed, lemon rind, and vinegar. Give it a toss and serve with the teriyaki salmon.

NOTE:

If you are using store bought teriyaki sauce, dilute it with mirin, sake, or water, as the store bought sauce is a bit thicker than the homemade one.

Tuna with mustard miso sauce

The love for fish and the book on Japanese cuisine I borrowed from a friend got me all excited about cooking something with raw fish. The tuna fish with miso mustard sauce sounded perfect combination of raw tuna and traditional miso. It was going to be my first use of miso; and like always, I was excited about cooking and tasting something new. I tried to follow the original recipe with modifications that were required because the lack of certain ingredients and to adjust to my tastes. The result was some interesting flavors. I found the miso a bit too strong for this particular dish, but have plans to experiment more.

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 2)

100g very fresh tuna

100g lamb’s lettuce (corn salad)

Salt

Sauce:

1.5tbsp miso

1tbsp sugar

3tbsp mirin

1sp mustard powder

1.5tbsp vinegar

METHOD:

1.      Place miso and sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add mirin gradually with continuous stirring.

2.      Put the mixture over heat stir unit the sauce obtains luster. Let it cool.

3.      Mix the vinegar and mustard powder. Add this to the cooled miso sauce to complete the miso-mustard sauce.

4.      Cut the fresh tuna into ½ inch cube and cool it in the fridge.

5.      Clean and blanch the greens. Drain and let it cool in the fridge.

6.      Remove any excess water from the tuna using a kitchen towel. Mix the tuna, lamb’s lettuce, and the mustard-miso sauce. Give everything a toss before serving.

 

Macher tikki (Fish tikki)

These days are rainy. A time, when I crave for Kolkata street food. And macher chop was what I was craving for. The Rohu fish flavored with simple spices is nestled inside a delicious mashed potato wrap. The whole thing is then coated with breadcrumbs and fried to get the glorious golden. The crust crunches into the melting softness of potatoes and fish. The nuts and raisins give a hint of sweetness to balance the green chili peppers. Accompanied with chutneys and sauces, it is perfect for the rainy evenings to munch on. Away from Bengal, without those street side shacks, if I am to have macher chop, I very well have to make it on my own. So one afternoon, I was all set to satisfy my palate.  Rohu was replaced by Carp. And I decided to incorporate a healthy twist (I was a bit lazy). I did not wish to have the potato mash coating. And, Instead of deep frying them, I pan fried the fish patties. Hence was born macher tikki from the chop. Ghee used as the frying medium brought richness to the flavors and added aroma. The sweetness of onions and raisins, the heat from ginger and chilies, the crunch of the nuts, all brought together to make the coldish rainy evening delicious!

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Makes 10)

600g Carp fish (or any sweet water fish)

2 onions

2 inch ginger

5-6 cloves garlic

3-4 green chilies

1/2sp turmeric

1sp coriander powder

1sp cumin powder

1sp garam masala powder

25g roasted peanut

25g raisins

Ghee

METHOD:

1.      Boil the fish in salted water. Debone. Mash well and keep aside to let it cool.

2.      Chop the onion, ginger and garlic roughly.

3.      Heat ghee in a wok. Add onion, ginger, and garlic. When it softens, add turmeric, cumin and coriander powder. Fry until golden brown.

4.      Blend the fried onion, ginger, garlic and green chilies in a smooth paste.

5.      Chop roughly the peanuts and raisins.

6.      In the heated wok used for frying, mix uniformly the fish, onion-ginger-garlic paste, garam masala, peanuts and raisins. Let it cool a bit.

7.      Divide into 10 equal portions and form patties.

8.      Pan-fry the patties using ghee.

9.      Serve hot with ketchup and chutneys.

Morola macher jhal (Spicy mola carplet)

Mola carplet or morola is a famous for its jhal, jhol, and ambol in a Bengali kitchen. It is cooked in a hot spicy dry preparation with lots of onions and occasionally potatoes (jhal), it can be in mild watery gravy (jhol), it is even cooked in mild sour gravy (ambol) to beat the summer heat, and then there is of course the crispy fried version. I love it best as morola macher jhal with lots of onions, chilies, and no potatoes. The crispy fried morola with a watery masoor dal comes a close second. This time I however decided to go with the favorite preparation. I love the sweetness of the golden brown onions to balance the heat from the green and red chilies. The pungency of the mustard oil adds to the taste. The not-so crispy friend fishes retain their soft fresh tenderness. With steaming hot rice, this spicy oily morola-r jhal is heaven on palate on some cloudy rainy noon.

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 2)

300g mola carplet

2 big onions

2-3 green chilies

1 dried red chili

Turmeric powder

Salt

Mustard oil

METHOD:

1.      Clean the mola carplets. Rub them with turmeric powder and salt.

2.      Heat mustard oil in a wok. Shallow fry the fishes until they are golden (4-5 minutes). Take care that the oil is hot and fry them in batches so that the fishes do not lump together.

3.      Set aside on a kitchen towel.

4.      Finely chop the onions.

5.      In hot oil, add the green and dried chilies. Let them crackle. Add the onions. Fry until golden brown.

6.      Add the fried fishes. Season. On low-medium heat cook until it leaves oil on sides.

7.      Serve with steaming rice.

Fish piccata

Piccata, sautéed protein in a lemon butter sauce is a classic and simple Italian preparation. It is amazing how a few simple ingredients can come together making such a delicious treat in no time at all. I decided to make a fish piccata with the beautiful Nile perch I bought from the market. The golden fried fish in the creamy buttery lemon sauce was amazing. And I loved the piquant of the capers and the heat of the peppercorns in the bites. A delicious yet light and simple meal it was.

 You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 2)

400g Nile perch fillet

2tbsp capers

1sp green peppercorns

1 lemon juice

1cup fish stock

3tbsp butter

Olive oil, salt, pepper

METHOD:

1.      Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper.

2.      Heat olive oil and 1tbsp of butter in a pan.

3.      Fry the fish fillets until golden brown on both side (2-3 minutes per side) and set aside.

4.      In the same pan, add the fish stock, lemon juice, capers, and peppercorns. Simmer until the liquids reduce to half. Stir in the butter.

5.      Pour the sauce over the fish.

Coffee rubbed fish

I wished to try the combination of coffee and fish. The flavors were partly influenced by Mexican cuisine and hence the choice of spices. The caramelized coffee gave a touch of bitterness to the fishes, which was well complemented by the other spices. Coupled with the ‘Eggplant avocado salsa’, it was a good dish. 

 
 You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 2)

2 fillet of Nile Perch

4tbsp of ground coffee

1sp cumin powder

1/2sp mustard powder

2sp red chili flakes

1sp Mexican oregano

1sp all spice

1/2sp turmeric powder

Salt, oil

METHOD:

1.      Clean and dry the fish fillets.

2.      Mix all the dry spices and ground coffee together. Rub generously on the fish.

3.      Pan-fry the fish fillets on medium heat, a couple of minutes for each side.

Begun diye macher jhol (Mild fish curry with eggplants)

I was about to buy a very little amount of fish for one serving. Then, I saw the Nile perch and couldn’t resist to buy at least half a kilo! That tells you I am a Bengali and just love eating fish. I had just returned from my trip to India and was missing the home cooked fish curry and the simple flavors. I knew perch goes very well in the simplest Bengali fish curry ‘macher jhol’. Macher jhol is a simple fish curry with very little spices in an almost watery gravy. I added eggplant (begun) to it. The mild flavors of nigella seeds and coriander, the warm earthy cumin, and the little hint of chili, all these came together to make the fish curry so comforting. With steaming rice, it just takes me to Kolkata..

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 4)

500g Nile perch (or any other sweet water fish)

1 big eggplant

1/2sp nigella seeds

1sp cumin powder

1sp coriander powder

1sp turmeric powder

3-4 fresh green chilies

Mustard oil

Salt

METHOD:

1.      Rub the perch pieces with 1/2sp turmeric and salt. Keep aside.

2.      Cut the eggplant into long finger like pieces.

3.      Heat mustard oil in a wok and lightly fry the fish pieces for 3-4mins. Remove the fish pieces and keep aside to drain the oil.

4.      In the same oil put in the nigella seeds after rubbing them in the palm to get the aroma out.

5.      When the nigella seeds start to crackle and give out aroma, add the eggplants. Fry the eggplants on medium heat for a couple of minutes.

6.      Add the green chilies, cumin, coriander, and turmeric powder. Let the spices cook for a couple of minutes.

7.      Add 2 and 1/2 cups of water. On medium heat, bring the curry to boil.

8.      When the eggplant pieces are almost done, add the fried fishes. Bring the curry to boil. Serve with steaming long-grain rice.

Fish galawati kebab

Galawati kebab is a delicacy from Awadhi cuisine. It originated to satisfy the delicate tastes of the Lucknow Nawabs (Uttar Pradesh, India). The name Galawati means ‘that melts in mouth’. It is an exquisite mixture of ground meat and aromatic spices formed into patty and fried on a griddle. The high fat content makes the kebab melt in the mouth. It is said that the authentic recipe has long secret list of aromatic ingredients that are signature of this preparation. Even though I do not know the secret recipe, I tried to keep it as close to the authentic one as possible. However, there are variations. I did not use atar or rose petals, because I did not have those. The major variation is the use of fish instead of meat. And that is why the name is Fish galawati kebab instead of just Galawati kebab. I wished to experiment with fish. The fat in this recipe mostly is fish oil with some cream. I do intend to try it once with ground meat, but this time it was with fish. But don’t let that disappoint you, as the kebabs were no less delicate. Soft, juicy, and delicious they were. With each bite, it was a celebration of flavors. The fish meat created a nice smooth texture, and the subtle blend of flavors and aroma of different spices took it to a different level. It was delicious.

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Makes 6)

250g Rohu fish (or Carp fish)

1 onion

1 inch ginger

4 cloves garlic

2 green chili

2tbsp Bengal gram flour

2tbsp khoya kheer

1tbsp cream

Salt, sugar

Ghee

Spice mix:

1inch cinnamon,

2 black cardamom

4-5 cloves

10 black pepper

3g mace

Pinch nutmeg powder

1 small dry red chili

2tbsp sesame seeds

1tbsp poppy seeds

METHOD:

1.      Boil the fish pieces, debone and set aside.

2.      Make a paste of the onion, ginger, garlic, chili.

3.      Heat ghee in a wok. Add the paste.

4.      Fry the paste until water evaporates and it is nicely brown.

5.      In the meantime, roast all ingredients of spice mix except nutmeg powder. Finely grind everything. Add the nutmeg powder.

6.      Mash the fish well. Add the onion-ginger-garlic-chili paste and the ground spices. Add khoya kheer and cream. Season with salt and a pinch of sugar. Mix well.

7.      Make dough using roasted Bengal gram flour.

8.      Cover and put in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

9.      When making the kebabs, take the dough out and again knead well.

10.   Make 6 equal sized balls and shape them like a patty.

11.   Grease a pan with ghee and pan-fry each of the kebabs until brown on both sides and starting to get a hint of char.

NOTE:

Condensed milk powder can be used instead of khoya kheer.

The kebab is very delicate and needs gentle handling while pan-frying.

If Rohu (or even Carp) is not available, any other sweet water fish from same family can be used.

Bhaja masala crusted salmon

Bhaja masla, literally translated to toasted spices, is my favorite Bengali spice mix. I love its salty savory aroma and taste, and almost like to try it with everything. So, this time it was the turn for salmon. I decided to crust the nice salmon piece with bhaja masala, however, I decided to increase the amount of mustard seeds. I very much love the flavor of fried fresh coriander leaves. Therefore, added them while pan-frying my salmon. And wow, it worked. The spices and the fish worked so well. One of my favorite fishes with my favorite spice mix created a dish that I can call one of my favorites!! I loved it.

  

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 2)

2 steaks of salmon

2 small zucchini (bio)

1/2cup chopped coriander

Salt

Oil

For the crust:

1tbsp mustard seeds

1sp fennel seeds

2 dried red chilies

1/2sp cumin seeds

1/2sp nigella seeds

1/2sp fenugreek seeds

METHOD:

1.      Toast the seeds for the crust in a pan. Let it cool and then grind it coarsely.

2.      Cut the zucchini into 1inch slices (with skin).

3.      Lightly coat with oil. Season with 1/2sp spice mix and salt.

4.      Bake for 40 mins at 180°C.

5.      Pat dry the salmon steaks and season with salt.

6.      Press the salmon in the spice mix to give it a nice coat.

7.      In a heated greased pan, fry the salmon with skin side down until almost done. Add chopped coriander leaves while frying.

8.      Flip over and fry the crusted side until brown.

9.      Serve with baked zucchini slices.

Five-spiced salmon with lightly caramelized fig

Whenever I go to the fish market, I am sure to buy a piece of this brightly colored fish. I find it one of the most tasty and flavorful fishes. And of course I am talking about salmon. I like crispy-skinned salmon dusted with different spices and paired up with some simple vegetables or fruits. The rich flavor of salmon and the subtlety of vegetables/ fruits are just the perfect combination for me. It makes me Saturday lunch happy. So this time it was these soft ripe figs that I lightly caramelized and served beside the succulent and crispy salmon seasoned with Chinese five-spice.

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 2)

2 pieces of salmon (~200g each)

4 big figs

1tbsp five-spice powder

Salt

Brown sugar

Oil

METHOD:

1.      Pat dry the fish and dust it with five-spice and salt.

2.      Grease a pan and make it hot.

3.      Put the fish skin side down and hold it down gently for a minute. Fry the fish on medium flame.

4.      In the meantime, half the figs and coat the face with brown sugar.

5.      In a heated pan, put the figs face down and cook until the sugar starts to caramelize.

6.      Switch off the heat, but the keep the figs in the pan so it continues to caramelize slowly.

7.      When the fish is almost cooked, flip over and lightly brown the other side.

8.      Plate each salmon piece with 4 pieces of lightly caramelized figs.

Salmon with poached pears

I am Bengali so of course I love fish. And salmon is one of my favorite fishes available here in Europe. It is tasty, oily, succulent.. Its oil reminds me somewhat about Bengal’s favorite Hilsha, though both of them are much different in all other respects.  Therefore, whenever I get a nice piece of salmon from the fish market, I cannot just wait to go home and have it. This time I decided to keep it simple. I would just fry it with a crispy skin. To counter balance the oily taste, I decided to serve it with poached pears. The pears would be poached in milk without much addition of extra sweetener. The subtle sweetness of the pear was what I was looking to bring out. Clove is one of my favorite spices and I decided to incorporate its flavor subtly in both the poached pears and salmon. The final result was a delicious combinations of subtle flavors.

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE 

 

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 2)

1 pear

2 pieces of salmon (~200g each)

200ml milk

50ml water

2tbsp honey

10 cloves

Salt

Olive oil

METHOD:

1.       Peel, core and quarter the pear.

2.       Put the milk, water, honey and half the cloves in a pot. Heat until honey dissolves and the liquid is warm.

3.       Put the pears in and reduce the heat. Poach the pears for 15-25 minutes depending on the type of pear. Take care that the pears do not turn mushy. Let it cool in the liquid itself.

4.       In the meantime, season the salmon pieces with salt.

5.       Heat a greased pan. Add the rest of the cloves.

6.       Put fish in the pan skin side down and hold it down for a minute.

7.       When almost the whole fish is cooked (changed color), flip over and cook the other side for a minute.

8.       Serve each salmon piece with two pear pieces (without the poaching liquid).

Tea crusted salmon with asparagus

While watching some cookery show other day, I saw a tea crusted fish recipe. And being a lover of fish, I of course had to try it at the soonest possible opportunity. The show I was watching served tea crusted flatheads with consommé. I thought my dish a bit differently. I love salmon, and good quality salmon is easily available in the fresh market. I decided to crust it with Indian green tea on both sides. Then I pan-fried it in olive oil. In the market there were selling lovely tender asparagus, and I had bought some. The succulent asparagus boiled in tea teamed up great with the salmon. The crispy salmon crust broke into its soft juicy orange flesh on a bed of tender asparagus. It was a well-balanced play of subtle flavors and textures. I simply couldn’t have enough of it. One very simple, elegant and delicate dish it was.

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:
(Serves 2 )

2 pieces of salmon (with skin)
6-8 tea bags (~15g tea)
20 asparagus shoots
Salt
Butter
Olive oil

METHOD:

1. Crust both sides of the salmon pieces evenly with powdered tea.
2. In a pot, start boiling water and drop a tea bag.
3. Cut away the hard bottom part of the asparagus shoots.
4. Boil them in tea water for around 5 minutes until tender yet firm.
5. Drain and sprinkle with salt and add a dullop of butter.
6. Heat olive oil in a pan.
7. When oil is hot, put in the salmon pieces skin side down and fry on medium heat.
8. Turn over, and fry until it is cooked through.
9. Drain oil and serve on a bed of asparagus.

NOTE:
The oil should be hot enough for frying fish.
To cut of the hard bottom of asparagus and not have much waste, try to break it towards the end. The natural breaking point is the point beyond which the shoot is hard.