A Fantastic Fish Curry (serves 6)

This was so much better on the plate than I had imagined in my head (and that’s saying something considering my imagination!). We are still in the bowels of a monstrous heat wave and the challenge is to cook something great for dinner quicker than the time it takes me to get agitated from standing by a hot stove for too long!

This fish curry is so good even people who claim to hate fish can be won over!

When I went to the supermarket yesterday with my daughter we talked about what would cook speedily? I told her not to think of a dish but to think of a main ingredient that would cook quickly – “FISH”, she shouted when she was suddenly hit with the idea, causing the woman with the trolley beside us to glare at her for startling her – oops!

The smaller the fish, the quicker it cooks (this was for my little fish fry in Italy – Press here to see the recipe

I thought that a powerful idea but was a bit worried about the selection at a shop I don’t usually buy fish from. The man behind the fish counter was about 16 and was no aspiring fish monger, so I was left up to my own intuition. The best thing to do when you cannot glean any information about which fish came in when is to smell it and give it a little poke with your finger.

Fish needs to be smelled and touched to see if it is fresh

After a couple of whiffs and a little prodding at the flesh I decided that the flounder was the best fish for the job, and being nice and thin, it would also cook quickly. It was also a bonus that it was on sale so I was able to buy a couple of pounds without breaking the bank.

I fried catfish to go with my curry (instead of flounder)

I didn’t want to fry it as that would mean I would also need to use a pot for a green and another for a starch and that was two too many pots for me to take on last night. I decided to cook curry because it would add lots of flavor to the mild fish and also because it’s what people eat in boiling hot countries like India. The theory is that spicy foods cool you down and just over a billion people can’t  be wrong.

Yellow squash from the Farmer’s market and basil from my garden (my garden is my flavor life saver!)

I did not know what veggies I had on hand but decided to use whatever I found in the fridge when I got home. I had yellow squash and some lovely kale and so this lovely curry was invented last night. It was truly fantastic and not a scrape was left today for lunch!

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*YES, I made this a Blood Type A Diet Recipe for me by using catfish instead of flounder and making the curry sauce with no dairy whatsoever. I know we have to eliminate or stick to certain spices but my compromise was to not add too much curry sauce to my dish and to cook my fish separately – A little compromising is how I am generally able to stick to the guideline*

You will need:

2 lbs mild tasting fish fillets (flounder, haddock, cod, white fish, catfish)

3 tbs extra-virgin olive oil

2 yellow squash, thickly sliced (3/4 inch)

3 cups baby kale or chopped kale (or spinach)

3/4 cup matchstick or Julienne carrots

2 tbs all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tbls curry powder (good quality, mild to medium heat)

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp finely chopped fresh marjoram leaves

4 basil leaves, finely chopped (optional or only if you have them)

3 to 4 cups chicken or veggie stock OR water and good quality bouillon cube

basmati rice for 6 (cook according to directions on package or in rice cooker)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:

In a small bowl combine the flour, curry powder, turmeric, chopped marjoram and 1 tsp sea-salt.

1 – Put large saute pan on medium heat and add oil. Add the diced onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the carrots and continue to cook for another 3 minutes.

Saute onions, add carrots

2 – Add the spice mix to the pan and stir everything together (it will be a bit dry). If you are using a bouillon cube you should add it now.

Add spices mix and flour

3 – Add 1 cup of broth (or water) and use a manual whisk to stir it until you have a smooth paste with no lumps. Add 2 more cups of liquid and turn heat up slightly. Stir frequently until the sauce gets hot and begins to thicken (about 5 minutes)

Make curry sauce

4 – Add the squash and bring the sauce to a simmer. Turn heat down, cover and simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Add squash

5 – Add the fish in an even layer (there will be some overlapping) and shake pan. this action will allow sauce to cover the fish. Turn heat up again and bring back to a simmer (you will see little bubbles on the surface of the sauce).

Add fish

6 – When it is bubbling slightly add the baby or chopped kale (or spinach). Cover pan and cook on a low simmer until the fish is cooked through (anywhere from 6 to 10 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish you use). Check fish and taste sauce for additionally seasoning. Scatter the basil leaves on top before serving.

Then kale

Let the curry rest for 5 or so minutes before serving with basmati rice.

Catfish Curry (for Blood Type A Diet Followers) Because I did not want my fish to cook with the flounder, I fried it in a separate pan with a little oil and some seasonings