Masala Salmon

I did not know I was making this Masala Salmon until I picked my new barbecue recipe book.

I got two Salmon steaks from Chinatown and its only 10 minutes before dinner time, that I got ahead with making this recipe and I am so glad I did!

Page 373 of The Barbecue Collection has this recipe, which is quite easy. The original recipe has curry paste in it, but I personally don’t like curry powder or paste so I conveniently left it out. The rest of the ingredients remained the same.

Ingredients for Masala Salmon are:

Two Salmon steaks
1 small red onion
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup fresh coriander
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3-4 green chilies/ hot peppers
2 teaspoon grated root ginger
2-3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 vegetable oil
Salt

Finely chop the onion. In a skillet, heat oil and deep fry the onions till they turn red and crispy. Reserve the oil and remove the onions with a slotted spoon. Let it cool.
In a blender, add the ginger, garlic, yogurt, green chilies, coriander, lemon juice, the fried onions, very little of the oil (from the onions) and salt. Give it a good swirl. This is the marinade for your fish.

Slobber the fish steaks with this marinade. For basting, drizzle the remaining oil you used to fry the onions.

Let the fish stand in its marinade for about 15 minutes.

I used the broiler of my oven (on high) and grilled the salmon for about 7-8 minutes on each side.

I served the Salmon Masala with some Potato Wedges and a Mexican-inspired Salsa. (Remember all those fresh vegetables I got from the Farmers’ Market?)
For the Salsa, I chopped finely a small red onion, half a cucumber, a firm red tomato, two red radishes, a handful of coriander and a few green chilies (I used the Thai green chilies). The seasoning was a simple lemon juice, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper (or a pinch of red chili powder), and half a teaspoon of cumin powder. That’s a whole lot of flavor and crunch in a bowl.
A perfect, delicious and remarkably “healthy” dinner was awaiting us, and it took me less than an hour to make it! The flavor the fried onions added to the fish was just so classy, I intend to do it to a few other recipes I have in mind.

Only wish the local Pakistani restaurant offered fish this good. 

Spring Chicken Cutlet

How glorious is this pre-Summer weather!
The sun and the long weekend were keeping me away from my kitchen. But now that I am back, I want to introduce you to the slickest chicken cutlet with roots in coffee houses of erstwhile Calcutta.
Once upon a time the Fowl Cutlet was the thing to have over cups of coffee and idealistic Marxist discussions dripping with some antelle attitude. Not to mention the out-of-job writer with a cigarette in one hand looking for inspiration in a piece of the crispy fried chicken cutlet served with tomato ketchup and slivered onions. I have had a crush on these cutlets ever since I was kid. Not only have I learnt to serve these cutlets as cocktail hors d'oeuvre, but also believe think they are great as dinner with sides of soups and salads!

Ingredients for Fowl Cutlet are:

600 grams boneless chicken breasts
1 medium size red onion finely chopped
1 head of garlic, peeled and chopped fine
1 knob of ginger finely chopped
Handful of coriander leaves, finely chopped
5-6 green chilies, finely chopped
2 tablespoons sattu (powder or flour of roasted gram)
Half teaspoon garam masala powder
2 teaspoons black pepper powder
1 teaspoon chaat masala
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder
15-20 peppercorns
Half cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
Canola oil
Salt
Boil the chicken pieces in enough water, salt and one teaspoon black pepper powder. Retain the chicken broth and remove the pieces of chicken when cooked. Let them cool.

Churn the boiled chicken in your blender. Use the pulse mode, as we do not want a paste made of the chicken. Add the chopped ingredients, sattu and the dry spices. Crack one egg and mix well.
Make oval-shaped cutlets between the palms of your hands.
Heat canola oil in a pan. Beat an egg in a dish. Dip each cutlet in the egg batter and coat it in the bread crumbs.
Shallow fry each cutlet till golden brown. Drain excess oil on paper towels.

I served the Fowl Cutlets with some Mexican-inspired salsa along with some Asian-inspired noodle soup, which was made with the leftover chicken broth.
Mexican, Chinese and Bengali! Who said you couldn’t have soul-searching discussions over a dinner like that!