An Invitation to Indian Cooking - Madhur Jaffrey [55]
2 tablespoons butter
GARNISH
Chinese, Italian, or regular parsley
Preheat the broiler.
Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in an 8–10-inch skillet over a medium flame, put in the fennel seeds, and fry, stirring, for about 5 seconds. Add onions and ginger, and continue to cook, stirring, for 5 to 8 minutes, or until onions are a darkish golden brown. Turn off heat. Add the mashed potato, ½ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, cayenne, garam masala, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Mix well.
Line a baking tray with aluminum foil. Rub a little oil on it. Stuff fish with the potato stuffing and either close opening with skewers or sew it with a needle and thread. Place fish on aluminum foil. Sprinkle the upper side with salt, pepper, half the remaining lemon juice. Cut the butter into 6 pats and lay 3 of them over the fish. Place under broiler. Broil slowly, basting with the butter. When one side is a golden brown, turn the fish over carefully, sprinkle this side with salt, pepper, and remaining lemon juice, lay the remaining pats of butter on it, and broil it also to a golden brown, basting with the butter. Remove carefully.
To serve: Place on warm platter, decorate with parsley, and serve with either a green salad with an oil and vinegar dressing or some Indian vegetable dishes, such as green beans or carrots or peas.
Mackerel with onions
SERVES 2
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 medium-sized onions, peeled and chopped
5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons (loosely packed) grated fresh ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground fennel or crushed fennel seeds
5 cardamom seeds, crushed
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional—use more or less as desired)
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons tamarind paste
2 mackerels, 1–1½ pounds each, cleaned, with head and tail removed if desired
GARNISH
4 tablespoons chopped Chinese parsley (coriander greens or cilantro)
Extra salt and pepper
(To double the recipe, use 6–7 tablespoons cooking oil and double all other ingredients.)
Preheat oven to 350°.
In 10–12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the chopped onions, the minced garlic, and the grated ginger. Fry, stirring, for 7 to 8 minutes or until the onions are lightly browned and translucent. Turn heat to low and add cinnamon, black pepper, fennel, cardamom, cloves, cayenne, salt, and tamarind paste. Stir and mix. Cook on low heat for 2 to 3 minutes until well mixed. Turn off heat.
Wash fish well and pat dry. Sprinkle inside and out lightly with salt and pepper. Make 3 or 4 diagonal slashes on either side of each fish. Place fish in oval baking dish. Put onion mixture inside, under, and over fish, stuffing some in the slashes. Pour any oil or juice left in skillet over fish. Cover fish with waxed paper cut about the same size as the oval dish. Place dish in oven and bake about 30 minutes or until fish is cooked through.
To serve: Place fish on a large warm platter and sprinkle with parsley, salt, and pepper. Serve with a rice dish and a simple green salad. I also like to serve it with grilled tomato halves, sprinkled with salt, pepper, cayenne, and lemon juice.
“Butterflied” leg of lamb, marinated and barbecued
Cubed leg of lamb, barbecued
Boti kabab (cubed lamb kabab)
Kidney kabab
Seekh kabab
Marinated pork chops
Tandoori chicken—my version
Barbecued jumbo shrimp
Barbecued swordfish
SEE ALSO:
Cold yogurt soup
Seekh kabab, flat style
here are several kinds of Indian cooking that are done out of doors over a charcoal grill. Many of these dishes can make welcome additions to American summer menus.
Chicken, fish, beef, lamb, and pork are rubbed with a well-spiced marinade (slits are often made in the meat to absorb the spices) and then grilled over hot coals. An indoor broiler could of course be used for all the recipes in this chapter, but the taste will never equal that achieved by the outdoor grill. I find these recipes are particularly good for