If you’ve ever wanted to recreate your favorite Indian dishes at home—but were too afraid to try—Madhur Jaffrey’s new cookbook is the place to start. Our Top Cookbook for March has plenty of delicious, inventive recipes that are friendly to the American home cook.
Salmon in a Bengali Mustard Sauce
serves 2–3
Eat this with plain rice and make the sauce as hot as you like. In Bengal, the mustard seeds are ground at home, but to make matters simpler I have used commercial ground mustard, also sold as mustard powder. You may also use halibut instead of the salmon. This very traditional dish is best served with Plain Basmati Rice, along with My Everyday Moong Dal, if you like, and a green vegetable.
To rub on the fish:
3/4 pound skinless salmon fillet
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
You also need:
1 tablespoon ground mustard
¼-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons mustard oil (use extra virgin olive oil as a substitute)
1/4 teaspoon whole brown mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
2 fresh hot green and/or red chilies (bird’s-eye is best), slit slightly
Cut the fish into pieces that are about 2″ x 1″ and rub them evenly with the salt, turmeric, and cayenne. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator for 30 minutes–10 hours. Put the mustard powder, cayenne, turmeric, and salt in a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon water and mix thoroughly. Add another 7 tablespoons water and mix. Set aside.
Pour the oil into a medium frying pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the mustard seeds. As soon as they start to pop, a matter of seconds, add the cumin and fennel seeds. Stir once and quickly pour in the mustard paste. Add the green chilies, stir, and bring to a gentle simmer. Place the fish pieces in the sauce in a single layer. Simmer gently for about 5 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked through, spooning the sauce over the fish all the time.
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Excerpted from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey by Madhur Jaffrey Copyright © 2010 by Madhur Jaffrey. Excerpted by permission of Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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