"Butter" Fish (Fish in Coconut Cream Curry Sauce) with Naan Bread

Fish in a delicious, thick, creamy sauce! Having successfully made the Paleo butter chicken using this very same recipe, omitting the fish stock and the kasuri methi,leaves, I decided to try using fresh wild-caught salmon.  The result was a decadently creamy curry ideal for a splash out meal when looking for something different.  The blend of spices, combined with both the coconut milk, coconut oil and ghee, add depth to the flavor combinations.  Served with Naan Bread,  (recipe link) this makes the ultimate in Mogul cooking, Paleo style!


Ingredients

400g fish fillets (any firm fish) skin removed, cut into bite-sized pieces

Juice of 1/2 a lime

Salt to taste

1 tsp red chilli powder (adjust to suit your taste)

2-3 cloves

3-4 whole peppercorns

1 stick of cinnamon

1 bay leaf

4-5 almonds

Seeds from 1-2 cardamom pods

1/2 cup coconut cream

1-2 tblsp coconut oil

1 onion finely chopped

1 tsps garlic paste

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsps coriander powder

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1/8 tsp turmeric powder

200g tomato blended to a paste

1 cup fish stock

1 tblsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) - you may omit if difficult to obtain from a spice store

1 tblsp ghee

Salt to taste

Coriander leaves to garnish

 

Here's How:

• Mix the fish, lime juice, salt and red chilli powder in a large, glass or plastic dish. Cover and allow to marinate for 1 hour.

• Heat a non-stick pan on medium and gently roast (stirring frequently) the cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, bay leaves and almonds till they darken slightly. Cool and add the cardamom seeds.

•  Now grind into a coarse powder in a coffee grinder, ensuring that there is no moisture.

• Mix the coconut cream, above whole spice powder (from previous step), coriander, cumin and turmeric powders together and add them to the fish. Allow to marinate for another 1/2 hour.

• Heat the oil in a deep pan on medium heat. When hot, add the onions. Fry till translucent and a pale golden brown in color and then add the ginger and garlic pastes. Fry for a minute.
• Add only the fish from the fish-spice mix and fry till sealed (fish will turn opaque and the flesh will go from pink to whitish in color). Stir very gently.
• Now add the tomato paste, fish stock, kasuri methi and remaining part of the coconut cream-spice mix to the fish.
• Cook till the fish is tender and the gravy is reduced to half its original volume. Stir very gently every now and then to avoid breaking the fish up.

• Melt the ghee in another small pan and then pour it over the fish. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with naan bread