Pan fried Salmon Fillets with grilled Veggies

Salmon is well known for its amazing health benefits. It’s rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, which can improve our eyesight and promote brain health.  It’s a delicious and kids-friendly food.

Ingredients:

Salmon Fillets - 250g

Garlic Cloves. - 8 (make a paste)

Parsley leaves - a handful 

Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Crushed Black Pepper - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Ceylon/Srilankan Cinnamon - 1/4 tsp

Lemon/lime juice - 1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Oil - 2 tbsp

Salmon Marinade

Method:

Clean the fish, add turmeric powder, chilli powder, cinnamon, Black Pepper,  garlic paste, lime juice and salt. Let it sit for half an hour.  

In a pan, pour olive oil and shallow fry both sides. It will get cooked in few minutes. Before switching off the stove, sauté in high heat for just a minute to create smoked/grilled effect.

Garnish with chopped parsley leaves, mouth watering  😋 Salmon fillets are ready to eat. Serve with grilled veggies. 

It will become your kids’ favorite dish in no time.

Grilled Veggies:

Chop vegetables of your choice. I normally prefer Capsicum/Bell Pepper, Potatoes, Brocolli, Pineapple(must try), Paneer, etc.,

Grilled Veggies!

Seasoning :

Red chilli powder/ crushed red chilli flakes - 1/4 tsp.

Crushed Black Pepper - 1/4 tsp.

Cumin seeds/Jeera Seeds - 1/4 tsp. (Optional)

Salt - to taste

Garnish - chopped Coriander and Parsley leaves. 

Lemon juice - few drops to be added finally 

(optional)

Method:

Stir in the seasoning ingredients into the chopped veggies.

Grill/bake the vegetables in an oven, alternatively you can sauté in a pan for couple of minutes in medium flame and another couple of minutes in high flame, add 2, 3 drops of lime juice and serve. 

Vanjira Meen Milagu Varuval/Seer Fish Pepper Fry

 

 

This is a common variety of fish, most of the people like.  It has fewer bones, so suitable for feeding children.  It involves shallow frying which consumes much lesser oil compared to deep fry.  I prefer to use non-stick pan/tawa,

Ingredients:

Vanjira Meen/Seer Fish – ½ kg.

Lime – 3 to 4

 

 

 

Masala ingredients:

Milagu thool/Ground Black Pepper Powder – 2 tsp.

Seeraga thool/Cumin Powder – 2 tsp.

Red Chilly Powder – 1 tsp.

Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp.

Poondu/Garlic cloves – 6

Chinna Vengayam/Small Onions – 4 to 5

Thayir/Natural Yoghurt/Curd – 2 tsp.

Salt – to taste

Curry leaves – few

 

 

 

 

 

can cut into small pieces as you cook.. (optional)

 

 

 

 

Method:

Rinse thinly sliced Vanjira meen /Seer fish, rub some turmeric powder and pour juice of 1 or 2 limes.  Set aside for 10 to 15 minutes.  Wash thoroughly and it is ready to coat masala.

In the meantime, in a blender grind the small onions and garlic with little water if needed.

Combine all the masala ingredients including salt; coat this masala over the fish and set aside to marinade. Adding Thayir/Yoghurt will give a nice tangy flavor.  Toss some curry leaves and mix well. Let the fish rest at least for 15 to 30 minutes.  Ideally you can leave the marinade for an hour or two, so that the masala gets absorbed by the fish.

Now it ready to fry.  Add 1 to 2 tsp. of cooking oil, gently transfer the fish in a non-stick tawa/pan and fry for few minutes, turn over and cook for another few minutes. Cooking in low-medium heat will ensure that it’s cooked well.

Do not over-cook the fish; otherwise it will turn hard and rubbery.

Sprinkle few drops of lime juice over the fish and serve hot.

 

Koduva Meen Kuzhambu/Sea Bass Fish Curry

Koduva Meen Kuzhambu/Sea Bass Fish Curry

 

 

Fish Curry is more like steamed fish, unlike fried fish it takes less oil.  It is healthy and tasty, suitable for everyone in the family, including small kids.

 

There are two important ingredients for the fish curry, which make the taste unique, few ‘Raw Mango pieces’/Maangai and ‘Kari vadagam’/dried onion with spices, for tempering. It’s available in the market, you can buy small packets. I've bought 'Ambika's brand Kari vadagam'

  

Fish Marinade

Ingredients



Kari Vadagam/Dried Onion with spices

Tamarind

Ingredients:

 

 

Koduva Meen/Sea Bass fish – 500 g



Babas less spicy Fish Curry Powder
 

Small Onions (halved) – 10

Garlic cloves – 8

Large ripe Tomato (sliced) - 1

Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp.

Black Pepper Powder – ½ tsp.



Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp.

Babas Fish Curry Powder  - 1 tsp.

Red Chilli Powder – 1 tsp.

Babas Hot & Spicy Fish Curry Powder

Sambhar Powder – 1 tsp.

Coriander Powder – 1 tsp.

Tamarind – Lemon size

Salt – to taste

 

Tempering Ingredients:

 

Vendhayam/Fenugreek – ½ tsp.

Kadugu/Mustard Seeds – ½ tsp.

Karivadagam – 1tsp.

Green Chilli (slit) – 2 (optional)

Curry leaves – few

Oil – 2 tbsp.

  

To Grind:

 

Grated Coconut – 1 tbsp.

Fennel seeds – 1 tsp.

 

 

Grated Coconut and Fennel seeds

 

Ground Coconut

 Method:

How to Clean the Fish:

To clean the fish, use lemon juice, turmeric powder and rubbing stone. 

First wash and clean the fish, add some turmeric and lemon juice, leave it for 15 to 30 minutes.

Take a rubbing stone or whatever equipment you use for cleaning the scales. 

I use the turmeric rubbing stone, which my mother use to rub turmeric, it'll be available in any shop which sells utensils for cooking.  I got this from India.

Rub the fish well against the stone, to remove the scales, this will also ward off any smell left in the fish. 

Clean again and set aside.

Turmeric Rubbing Stone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clean the fish, squeeze in lemon juice, add ginger garlic paste, pepper powder and turmeric powder. Set aside.

Soak tamarind in water, after a while, extract the juice and save it for the gravy. Grind coconut and fennel seeds with water, for the gravy.

 In a pan, pour oil, add the tempering ingredients, followed by small onions and garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes, and add sliced tomato and sauté 2 more minutes.  Add all the masala powders and cook in low flame for few minutes.  Add tamarind extract, coconut gravy and little more water. Let it boil for 5 minutes, until the raw smell of the masala gets away.  Now add the fish gently, cover and cook for few more minutes until the fish becomes tender. (Fish takes little time to cook)

 

Garnish and serve hot with Rice.  Delicious Fish Curry is ready.

Tips Tips Tips...


You can use the same procedure to make "Vavva meen/Silver Pomfret Fish"

  

Vavvaal Meen/Pomfret Fish!

 
 
 
 


Vavvaal Meen Kuzhambu/ Pomfret Gravy (same procedure as above)