Bangada chi Hooman (Mackerel with Hooman Sauce)

We had Reiver's parents over for dinner on Monday. I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to cook until a few hours before they arrived, but I had had vague hopes that it could be something fish-based. And oh boy, were we in luck! They had kahawai fillets on sale. So far I'd only seen kahawai available as whole (ungutted) fish. So having some lovely fillets on hand was very exciting. Especially since a) they were lovely, large, meaty pieces of fish and b) they weren't even that expensive! Very nice!

We came home with five huge fillets and, with Reiver's advice, I decided to use them in this fun-looking mackerel curry. And it was delicious! I would definitely make this one again! (Assuming I could find the fish for it, of course.) It was really tasty and a big hit all 'round.

Photo goes here.

Bangada chi Hooman

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. ginger chile paste¹
• 1/2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt, divided
• 750-1000g of skinless mackerel, kahawai, or cod fillets
• 1/4 c. oil, divided
• 1 onion, chopped
• ~200mL diced tomato
• 1 tsp. tamarind concentrate
• 2 tsp. Maharashtrian garam masala
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley, if you cannot abide the coriander leaves)
• 1/2 c. cream of wheat or dry breadcrumbs

Directions

1. Combine the ginger chile paste with 1 tsp. of the salt and smear it all over the fish. Cover and chill for 30-60 minutes.
2. Heat 1 Tbsp. of oil over medium heat.
3. Add the onion and cook until softened (~10 minutes).
4. Add the tomato, tamarind, and masala and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
5. Stir in the cilantro.
6. Meanwhile, heat some of the remaining oil over medium heat and dredge the fish in the cream of wheat/breadcrumbs.
7. Add the fish to the pan and fry until cooked through and crispy on both sides (4-8 minutes per side depending on thickness). Add additional oil as needed during cooking.
8. Dish up the fish and top it with the sauce. Serve with rice or a rice-lentil porridge like elambuchambu shaadum.

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¹ I didn't have any ginger chile paste and didn't want to either make or buy a whole jar just for this one recipe, so I just minced some fresh jalapeño and stirred it into plain ginger paste. I didn't want it to be too spicy (nor use too much pepper) since I was trying not to poison Keith, so I just used half of a jalapeño and removed the seeds and pith. ^Back