This came out really well. The fish was excellent. The sauce was delicious. The real star of the show though was the masala. It was incredible!

I thought we'd made pretty much all the masalas in the book at this point, so I was surprised to see one that I didn't recognize called for in this recipe. I was even more surprised to find that it was a wet masala. It is a delicious, pungent mix of vinegar, chilies, and spices and I love it!

As much as I loved this mix, I think TF felt even more strongly about it. She took to spreading it on toast (and pretty much anything else that didn't run away fast enough). Now that we've restocked on dried chilies, I've promised to mix up another batch for her so that she can continue putting it on and in absolutely everything.

Even if you don't end up making this curry, I highly recommend trying to the masala as either a condiment or ingredient in other dishes.

Poached Salmon with Scallions and Tomato

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 650g salmon fillets (preferably with skin on)
• 1 c. coconut milk
• 1 Tbsp. balchao masala
• 3/4 tsp coarse sea salt
• 15 fresh (or frozen) curry leaves
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 tomato, diced
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Sprinkle the turmeric over the skinless side of the salmon, cover, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
2. Combine coconut milk, masala, salt, and currly leaves and set aside.
3. Heat oil over medium heat.
4. Add the salmon, flesh-side-down and cook for 2-4 minutes.
5. Flip and sear the skin side for 1-2 minutes.
6. Stir the coconut milk mixture and pour it over the fish and bring to a boil.
7. Place the tomatoes and scallions over the fish.
8. Cook, uncovered, occasionally tilting the pan and basting the fish for another 5-8 minutes.
9. Serve with rice/your favourite pulao.