Indian Fish Coconut Curry

So for some reason, whenever I try a variety of dishes at Indian buffets, I dislike all but one of them.  And sometimes all of them. If I order a specific entree, I'm usually safe and it tastes great.  And if I make Indian dishes from scratch at home, I enjoy them.  Maybe Indian buffets are just crappy.  

I made this particular recipe a few months back and was a little generous with the Indian chili powder and so it was *very* spicy.  I made it because I had made some homemade roti bread as well (having made paneer the day before) and I wanted a good curry to go with it.  I didn't take any quality pictures of this curry (I need to use my good camera for such things in the future!) so there is no picture here.  But here's the source recipe, which has a nice picture.

 

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless fish fillets, cut into chunks.  Use the fish of your choice: mahi mahi, grouper, flounder, tilapia, or even shrimp would be good.
1/2 pound of cubed paneer cheese (totally optional)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 

1/2 onion, chopped 

1 teaspoon grated 

fresh ginger 

2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 fully ripe tomato, diced or 1 1/2 cups canned diced tomatoes 

1 teaspoon garam masala 

1/4 teaspoon chili powder (cayenne) (I used Indian chili powder, extra hot, that I got from the Asian market.  And I maybe used around 2 teaspoons of it. Don't do this unless you like it spicy!!) 

1/2 teaspoon saltfreshly ground black pepper
1 cup coconut milk (I used low fat)

 1/4 cup water 

Directions:

Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and swirl in the oil. When the oil is heated, add the onion, ginger and garlic. Turn the heat to medium-low and let the aromatics cook slowly. Saute until very fragrant, about 5 minutes. Take care not to let it burn!

Add the tomato and saute for another 3 minutes, stirring frequently. 

Add the garam masala, chili powder, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and cook for 2 minutes. This is the masala (spice base).

Turn the heat to medium-high. Pour in the coconut milk and the water. When the mixture comes to a good boil, add in the fish and cook for 4 minutes or so, until the fish is cooked through. Fish never takes very long.

Serve with some basmatic rice, naan, or roti (or all three!).