Cooking for Pleasure: Spicy fish in tomato sauce

Transforming frozen fish with Indian spices will tantalize your taste buds

Ready to eat spicy fish in tomato sauce. (Photo by Patty Schied)

By Patty Schied

It’s great that fresh fish is available locally now that the weather has gotten warmer. But, like many of you, I have fish in the freezer, and it just doesn’t seem right to buy fresh and then have the frozen fish go to waste. This recipe is easy to make and transforms what might be a humdrum mid-week meal into one that will tantalize your taste buds. It uses many common Indian spices that transform fish from a ho-hum meal to one that is unforgettable. If you like Indian food at all, you will like this method of cooking fish. 

Before you decide to use this recipe, check your spice cabinet to make sure that you have the spices used in this dish. These are all available locally. They can also be ordered from spice companies such as Penzey’s. 

Fish and other ingredients. (Photo by Patty Schied)

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of cod, snapper, halibut or rockfish 

• 1 ¼ teaspoons of salt 

• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper 

• ¼ teaspoon turmeric 

• 9 tablespoons of cooking oil  

• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds 

• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds 

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped 

• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin 

• 1 can chopped tomatoes 

• ¼ teaspoon garam masala (optional) 

Frying the fish. (Photo by Patty Schied)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pat the fish fillets dry with paper towels and rub them on both sides with ¼ teaspoon salt, the cayenne and turmeric. Set aside and let rest while you are preparing the tomato sauce. 

In a medium-sized fry pan, add four tablespoons of oil and heat to medium. Then add the fennel and mustard seeds and cook for just a few seconds until they begin to pop. You will notice the aroma immediately.

Add the onion and garlic, stir and fry until the onion turns slightly brown. Add the cumin, one teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon cayenne.  Stir to mix, then add the can of tomatoes and the garam masala. Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. 

Put the remaining five tablespoons of oil in a large fry pan and set over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, quickly brown the fish filets without cooking through. The fish will finish cooking in the oven. 

Put the fish in a baking dish and pour over the tomato sauce. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Serve with rice.  Serves four. 

• Patty Schied is a longtime Juneau resident who studied at the Cordon Bleu in London and has written a cookbook. Cooking For Pleasure appears every other week in the Juneau Independent's features. She welcomes recipe ideas and questions about her column at patschied@yahoo.com.