Thai Red Fish Curry

I have always loved Thai dishes, especially the coconut milk based soups and curries they serve at the restaurant. I have tried to attempt some of these dishes at home but the lack of fresh Thai herbs like Galanjal, lemon grass etc which impart the aroma and flavour that is so specific to Thai food always left them somehow void.
I had given up my attempts at Thai food and had resorted to restaurant food whenever I was in the Thai mood, until I came across these divine herbs in the local grocery shop. Went home armed with some of them and just got going.
The combination of Seafood with coconut milk and Thai herbs always had a mystical aura to it. And in that Tom Yum Soup takes the cake. I didnot dare to attempt it this time but settled for a lesser one, Thai Fish red curry, which I knew was a hard-to-go-wrong dish.
This curry is very fragrant, with the use of fresh herbs and rich in flavours.


Ingredients:
Any fleshy fish fillet, cut into 1" pieces - 250gms
Oil - 2Tbsp
Red Bell Pepper - 1/2No, sliced thin
Mushrooms, cut into pieces - 1 cup
Garlic cloves, finely chopped - 2No.s
Lemon grass, finely chopped - 2Tbsp
Galanjal or fresh ginger, grated - 2 Tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1tsp
Turmeric powder - 1tsp
Thai Red Curry Paste - 2Tbsp
Canned Thick coconut milk - 1/4ltr
Fish Sauce - 2 Tbsp
Brown Sugar - 2tsp
Fresh Basil, finely chopped - 2Tbsp


Method :-
Heat oil in a deep pan. Saute Bell peppers nd Mushroom with a little salt for 2-3 minutes, stirring in between. Add the garlic, lemon grass and galnjal and saute while stirring, until the garlic gives out a nice aroma.
Add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder, fish sauce, Thai red curry paste, brown sugar and saute for a minute.
Add the coconut milk and water, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Slowly add in the fish pieces and simmer, covered for 10 minutes, until the fish gets cooked.
Remove from fire, add lime juice and basil leaves and serve with Thai Jasmine Rice.

Sauteed Fish in Lemon Butter Garlic Sauce

Fish Fillet - 6

Marinade:-
Ginger Garlic Paste - 2Tbsp
salt and ground pepper - to taste
lemon juice - 1 lemon
For the Batter:-
Egg, beaten - 1 No
Paprika powder - 1 Tbsp
Salt and pepper
Cornflour
For the sauce:-

Butter - 2Tbsp

garlic, crushed - 1Tbsp

lemon juice - 2Tbsp

parsley, chopped - 3Tbsp

Vegetable/Chicken stock - 1cup

ITbsp cornflour mixed with 2Tbsp water

Method:-

Apply the marinade to the fish fillet and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Mix together the ingredients for the batter except the cornflour and beat well. 

In a frying pan, heat 2Tbsp oil, until steaming hot.

Dip the marinated fish fillet in the batter, coat it with cornflour and place in the hot oil. 

Reduce heat and let the fish cook on a medium flame for 5 minutes on both sides or until the fish gets cooked through.

Remove using a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towels.

Prepare the sauce. In a wok, heat the butter until it melts. Add crushed garlic and lemon juice and saute for a while until the garlic starts to slightly brown. Add parsley leaves, and saute for 1 minute. Add the stock to this, bring to a boil. Add in cornflour mixed with water, reduce to a low flame and cook while continuously stirring until the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat. 

Arrange the fish fillets in a serving dish, spoon over the sauce and serve hot.

Goan Prawns Curry

Goa has some real good seafood dishes. This is one such dish and it has been adapted from Lakshmi Nair's Flavours of India program.

Jumbo Prawns - 1/2 kg
Marinade:-
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1Tbsp
Salt - to taste
Coconut oil
To Grind :-
Onion - 1 No
Tomato - 1No.
Ginger - 1" piece
Garlic pods - 4 No.s
Coriander leaves - a bunch
Green chiilies - 4 No.s
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/4tsp
Grind together all these with little or no water and keep aside.

Extract thick milk and thin milk from 1 coconut and keep aside.

Method:-

Wash and clean the prawns, retaining part of the head. Apply marinade.

In a deep pan, add 2Tbsp oil and saute the marinated prawns for a while until the prawns start to get cooked. Remove from oil and keep aside. In the same pan, add the ground paste and saute for a while till the raw smell is gone. Add the sauted prawns to this and cook for a while in open pan. Add thin coconut milk and curry leaves, close pan and cook for 5 minutes so that the prawns get cooked through. Add thick coconut milk and remove from fire.
Serve.

Fish N Chips

A staple food of the Great Britain. Easy and Simple and suitable just for the day when you want something refreshing without much fuss.

All you need is

Fish Fillet (King fish, Hamour, Butterfish, Cod or Haddock) - 1/2kg

For the marinade :-

Paprika or Mild red chilli powder - 2 tsp

Lemon juice - juice of one lemon

salt - to taste

Clean and pat the fish dry. Apply the marinade on the fish and keep it in the fridge for 15 minutes while you prepare the batter.

For the batter :-

All purpose flour - 1 cup

Cornflour - 1 cup

Baking powder - 4 tsp

Salt - to taste

Egg White - 1

Soda / Sparkling water - 1 can (enough to make the batter)

Yellow food colour

Mix together cornflour, all purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Add soda to this gently, mixing continually. Whisk the egg white until frothy but not too stiff. Add egg white and lightly mix in to the batter. The batter should be bubbly and light.

Heat oil in a wok. Dip each fillet of marinated fish in this batter so as to completely coat the fish. Place it in the hot oil and cook both sides for 3-4 minutes on medium low heat. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towel.

For a healthier version, you can place the fillets on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and cook 12-15 minutes until cooked through and golden.

Ideally served with potato chips and tartar sauce.