To market, to market: Tamarind Fish
You know how sometimes, no matter what you do, you get the feeling as if your life is running on repeat mode? Day in and day out, things seem to take on a ridiculously standard routine - you read similar topics in the paper every morning, you watch reruns of the same TV show each day, you drive to same store to shop for the same produce each time, and the worst of all, you eat the same thing for your meals every other day! For the past couple of days, this has been exactly the feeling I find myself going through. No matter how hard I tried, it seemed like my meals were boringly repetitive. The inspiration had disappeared to a remote corner of my creative mind somewhere, and all attempts to revive it had been failing tremendously. That is until Hubby Dear (the sweet caring soul that he is!) decided to whisk me away on a foodie adventure.
We drove down a short distance to the nearby town of Hamilton to visit one of its indoor farmer markets. The ride there was surely scenic, but what took my breath away was the array of fresh, vibrant vegetables! Being the ardent carnivore that I usually am, it was almost surreal to feel my excitement at the sight of rich green broccoli. And I don’t even eat broccoli, no matter how delicious it may look! I was smitten, to say the very least, and within a couple of minutes found myself buzzing around from vendor to vendor picking up a colourful assortment of plump, juicy, fresh produce. Eggplants of different colours, tomatoes of various shapes and sizes, robust bunches of radiant greens, bread, fruits and spices - you name it and I bought it. Bagfuls of it. But the highlight of my shopping would have to be the huge bunch of baby Bok Choy that I picked up for a ridiculously nominal price of a couple of cents. Yes, cents!
Once the veggies were washed, prepped and duly packed in the fridge, I couldn’t wait to plan my week’s menu. Inspiration came flooding back and my mind whizzed with fantastic new recipes waiting to be created and played with. Although I mentally created new flavour combos for all the veggies I had in store, I knew exactly how I wanted to savour the Bok Choy. I went with my classic favourite - simple, quick and satisfying. But I had to pair it up with something that could lift its humble spirit to new heights, and this is what I came up with.
TAMARIND FISH
Prep time: 10 min | Cooking time: 20 min | Serves: 22 large fillets of any white, flaky fish (I used Tilapia), cut into 1-inch cubes
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
1 medium green pepper, thinly sliced
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp tamarind concetrate
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt, to taste
2 tbsp light cooking oilSUATE mustard seeds and sliced onions in hot oil till soft and lightly browned.
ADD in turmeric, chilli powder, salt, chopped tomatoes, garlic and tamarind, and cook until tomatoes pulp and spices have blended in well.
STIR in fish and green peppers, and stir fry on meduim heat till fish is cooked through, making sure not to break fish too much.
SERVE warm.
This is my contribution to Jihva: Tamarind, hosted by Sig of Live to Eat.
June 17th, 2008 13:45
The tamarinf fish looks so good. Colour is so welcoming too
June 17th, 2008 23:58
This sounds so delicious. I’m a huge fan of tamarind.
Me too Kalyn, I especially love the bright tangy flavour!
June 18th, 2008 05:34
Though I love your recipes and the photographs that accompany them, what I enjoy all the more is your honest banter, which reads just like a friend talking to me, and the way you describe things, like the market for example, felt like I could see it and smell it and taste it! Keep blogging (and more often!)
Thanks so much Karishma, I’m glad you love coming here and look forward to seeing more of you!
June 18th, 2008 11:43
It look’s to good to be through I am definitely going to try this
June 18th, 2008 21:20
Now that is a very delighful picture….
June 21st, 2008 05:47
Looks lovely - was it a bit sour with the tamarind/tomato combo?
Yup, it was definitely quite sour - which is why it’s best pair with a simple Dal or a light flavoured curry. Do try it out, am sure you’ll enjoy it!
June 21st, 2008 11:08
Your post made me smile. Sounds like you’ve been experiencing a culinary Groundhog Day. The fish recipe looks inspired, and I actually have some tamarind in the cupboard that I had absolutely no idea what to do with. Until now.
hehehe, culinary Groundhog Day - I love that description! Do let me know how it came out.
June 21st, 2008 11:08
Your post made me smile. Sounds like you’d been experiencing a bit of a Groundhog Day routine, eh? The fish recipe looks inspired, and I actually have some tamarind in the cupboard that I had absolutely no idea what to do with. Until now.
June 21st, 2008 14:00
The fish looks yummy. Never have been to the Hamilton farmers market.. sounds good to me and I will definitely be making a visit there.
June 21st, 2008 20:14
I like tamarind, I like fish, I will have to make this
June 22nd, 2008 17:42
That is quite an innovative fish dish, something different from the norm… It looks delicious Meena… thanks for the entry!
June 25th, 2008 08:20
i love tamarind fish.it is my favorite.i had it on my valentine’s day with some beautiful flowers.that was just so romantic.
July 10th, 2008 16:56
Meens..
i Loved it!! cooked it and was yummy..i used Salmon,though.
July 30th, 2008 21:43
Tamarind is such a wonder ingredient and it’s wonderful on fish. Yummy-looking dish!
February 13th, 2009 11:29
hi,
i tried ur daal makhni, it turned out great, even my hard to please mother in law loved it!!!
can u make this dish with shripms instead & serve it with noodles? will the sauce need to be more thin? something like pad thai, minus the sweet flavours.
August 1st, 2009 23:13
Yup! You do learn something every day. I would never have considered putting fish and tamarind together… must be a wonderful tangy taste to it. Looks very appealing.
March 6th, 2010 06:29
Looks Yummy…….