Chef Roshan Tadadikar's Tilapia Fish Curry, made with coconut milk, and cherry tomatoes is inspired by the Kerala-style Pomfret Moilee.
Tilapia is a freshwater fish that, according to Healthline.com, is high in proteins and a source of niacin, vitamin B12, phosphorus, selenium and potassium.
Make the dish in a meenchatti or clay pot, if you have one, as it will greatly enhance the taste.
This curry goes superbly with appams, neer dosas or hot steamed rice.
Before joining the Novotel group, Chef Tadadikar, who says he is a 'food lover by heart' and believes in conscious cuisine that takes a more holistic approach, had stints at Marriott hotels in Bhopal and Goa and and he also worked at the Raffles Udaipur Resort.
Tilapia Fish Curry
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 500 gm tilapia or substitute with red snapper
- 1 cup coconut milk, preferably fresh
- 1 onion, cut into thin long slices
- 7-8 cherry tomatoes
- 2-3 green chillies, slit lengthwise
- 3-4 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tsp haldi or turmeric powder + a pinch for marinating the fish
- 1 tsp red chilly powder
- 1 tsp dhania or coriander powder
- ½ tsp methi or fenugreek seeds
- ½ tsp rai or mustard seeds
- 1 sprig curry pattas or curry leaves
- 2-3 tbsp vegetable oil
- Small bunch green dhania or coriander or cilantro, for garnish
- Salt to taste, about 2 tsp
Method
- Clean the fish and remove its head, fins, but retain the tail.
In a bowl, marinate the fish with a pinch of haldi and salt.
Keep aside for 15-20 minutes.
- In a meenchatti or heavy-bottomed kadhai or frying pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat.
Add the rai and the methi seeds.
Once they splutter, add the chopped onions and saute till translucent.
Add the ginger-garlic paste.
Add the slit green chillies.
Cook for a couple of minutes until the raw smells disappears.
Reduce heat to low and add the haldi, chilly powder and the coriander powder and stir.
Add the coconut milk and gently simmer for 5 minutes over low heat or the coconut milk will curdle.
Carefully add the marinated fish into the curry.
Add the cherry tomatoes.
Add the curry leaves and the salt.
Cover and cook over low heat for about 10-15 minutes more or until the fish is cooked.
Take off heat and let the curry rest for a few minutes before serving.
Garnish with the chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with steamed rice or appams or neer dosas.
Roshan Tadadikar is the executive chef of Novotel Mumbai International Airport.