Indian Fish Curry with Basmati Rice

By chbounds

Ingredients

• 1/3 c. canola oil
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 small fresh, hot green chilis, seeded and minced
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 T. ground cumin
• 2 tsp. ground coriander
• 2 tsp. brown mustard seeds
• 2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 T. sugar
• salt
• 2 lb. firm, mild white fish fillets such as cod or halibut, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 3 T. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 cup basmati rice

Preparation

Step 1

For Curry:

In a large frying pan over medium high heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and sauté until it starts to turn golden, about 5-7 minutes.

Stir in the garlic, chiles, ginger, cumin, coriander, mustard seeds, and turmeric and sauté until the spices are fragrant and evenly coat the chopped onion, about 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes, sugar, and 1 tsp. salt and sauté until the tomatoes begin to release their juices. Pour in 1 1/2c. water and deglaze the pan, stirring and scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

Transfer the tomato-spice mixture to a slow cooker. Cover and cook for 2 hours on the low-heat setting. Uncover and add the fish, stirring gently to coat with the sauce. Cover and cook until the fish is opaque throughout and the sauce is thick, about 30 minutes longer.

Check the sauce halfway through the cooking time; if it seems to be getting too thick, stir in more water and season to taste with salt.

Serve the curry over basmati rice and garnish with cilantro. Serve immediately.

Makes 6-8 servings

For the Rice:
Wash the rice. This is an important step!

Place the rice in a large bowl and fill with water. Swirl your hand through the water and the rice. The water will go cloudy. That's all the starch being removed in order to have individual grains of rice, not the sticky kind that's popular in Chinese and Japanese cuisine..

Once you've swirled your hand around for a minutes, pour the water off. Repeat this washing process until the water runs clear. Usually, this takes 3-4 times.

Fill the bowl one more time and let the rice soak for 30 minutes.

Drain the rice. Fill a medium saucepan with 1 3/4 c. water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil.

Add the rice, stir, and wait until the water comes back to a full boil, then turn heat down as low as it can go, then cover and cook for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, cut the heat and let the rice sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.