The Goan Fish Curry one...................

Today is my rest day from exercise, a day to give my body and muscles time to catch up and repair itself, and I am sure it is thanking me for it.

Saying that, I may not have done any notable muscle pumping, but did start the day helping my Mum with her housework, then came home and did mine, so the body has still be on the move!

For breakfast today I just had some peanut butter and marmite on wholemeal toast whilst over my parents, and then for lunch it was a quick grab of some oatcakes with houmous and smoked sun blushed tomatoes (I love these!), then a handful of wasabi peas (again, love these!).

So instead I thought I would give you a proper talk through of our dinner tonight, a homemade Goan style fish curry, with homemade onion bhajis and homemade flat bread ... all very low fat, all very delicious!!

It takes a bit of time and effort to prepare, but it was so worth it.  Its not going to be something you make regularly, but as a special Saturday night meal it is well worth all the effort.  I have a very well stocked cupboard of all the spices and flours I need for this, once you buy them, they last quite a while and you have them then at any time.

~GOAN FISH CURRY, ONION BHAJIS AND CORIANDER FLAT BREAD~

 

Ofcourse, you could use a ready bought paste and save time, but to save on the extra oils used to preserve them it is well worth making your own.  You could make the spice mix as a batch and save it in an airtight container, then add the other ingredients to make up a paste any time.

Serves 2

Masala Paste
4 cloves
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1-2 tsp crushed chilli flakes
1 star anise
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp palm sugar
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2" root ginger, peeled and grated
1 tbsp white wine vinegar


Dry fry all spices in a pan until the aromas are released and they are nicely toasted, just a few minutes.  Remove and add to a pestle & mortar (or spice grinder) and bash or whizz to a powder mix.  Add the crushed garlic, grated ginger, palm sugar and white wine vinegar and hand mix to a paste, set aside.

Onion Bhajis ~ makes 6

 

3 onions, red and white

1 tsp fennel seeds

1tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2tsp chilli flakes

3 tbsp gram (chickpea) flour

Fresh coriander

 

Finely slice the onions and add to a bowl.  Add the spices and the gram flour, then add a few drops of water to make a batter (not too wet), just enough to bind it all together, if it needs more, add a few drops more.  Chop up some fresh coriander and add to the mix, stir it all together and let stand for about 20 minutes,  The line a baking tin with parchment or silicone paper, give it a quick spray with oil, spoon the mix onto the tin, makes about 6.  Pop in a pre-heated oven about 180oc for about 25-30 minutes, till browned and cooked.

 

 

Fish Curry

1 white onion, finely chopped
Masala Paste
2 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
Reduced Fat Coconut Milk
1 red or green chilli, sliced
1 tsp mustard seeds
Coriander, chopped


Add 2tsp of rapeseed oil to a pan then cook the onion until softened.  Add the masala paste and cook for a couple of minutes until you can smell the aromas.  Add the tomatoes and let it cook out until most liquid has evaporated.  Add the coconut milk and the chilli and bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes until sauce thickens a little.  Add the fish and cook for a further 5-10 minutes until fish is all cooked through (don't over cook it). In the meantime heat a pan and cook the mustard seeds dry, literally for a minute or so, till they start popping, then add to curry mix. 

Serve with a scattering of chopped coriander!

 

 

The flatbread is as easy as, I simply take a couple of tablespoons of wholemeal flour, a couple of tablespoons of chickpea flour, 1/2 170g tub of 0% greek yogurt, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp bicarbonate soda, chopped coriander and pinch of sal,I sometimes also add fennel seeds or cumin seeds.  Mix all together in a bowl, separate into 2 balls and then flatten each ball out.  Heat a pan (same one the mustard seeds were done in) and cook them dry, both sides, until browned.  Takes minutes!!

 

So yes, this was a bit time consuming, you could take short cuts to make it easier and quicker, you could change the fish for chicken if you liked, just cook it a bit longer, but it was so so worth it, better than  any take-out you could get, full of fresh, healthy, vibrant ingrediants.  Nothing deep fried, nothing steeped in oil or ghee.

 

I don't count calories so I cannot tell you the values in this I'm afraid, but cannot imagine it is high, and fat is definitely low.

 

Those sharp eyed amongst you may have noticed there were 6 onion bhajis made ... 2 each were served, the other 2 have my name on for tomorrow as a snack!! ;)

 

Thanks again for reading

Enjoy your Saturday evening

Jo

xx