Pomfret in a green curry

One of the things I like most about cooking in India is shopping for the ingredients. It takes a while, mind you, but it's always nice when the vegetable vendor recognises me with a smile and the grocer asks after my husband if he hasn't seen him for a while. It is a very personal shopping experience and sometimes I have to avoid certain stalls simply because I'm in a hurry and can't chat!

When it comes to buying fish, however, I rely on my aunt or mother. I'm not really sure how to recognise 'fresh' fish. Last week, I got some pointers from our neighbour (a different one from the last post) and bought some pomfret from the lady who sells fish door-to-door.

I used my grand mum's recipe, given to me by my aunt. Here's what I did:

Ingredients

1 smal onion

1/2 cup grated fresh coconut

3-4 green chillies

4-5 cloves of garlic

1/4" piece ginger

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp corriander seeds

3-4 pepper corns

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1 lime-sized piece of tamarind soaked in water

1 bunch fresh corriander (cilantro)

1/2 kg pomfret

1/2 tsp tumeric

2 medium-sized tomatoes, cut in quarters

To make:

1. Wash and salt fish. Set aside in a collander.
2. Grind first 11 ingredients in a food processor. Add water as required to make a thick paste.
3. Heat saucepan. Add oil and the fabulously green paste and tumeric. Fry for 5 minutes.
4. Add fish. Cook a while, add quartered tomatoes.
5. Cover saucepan. Turn gas off when fish is cooked completely.
6. Serve after 5 minutes.