Fish-Lime Masala

What did people ever do before the freezer? It was time to clean the fridge over the weekend and I was surprised to see a package of frozen Swai fish fillets. I called my dad and he told me he brought them one time I invited them over for dinner in the hopes that I would cook them, but I already had a meal ready so he just stored them in my freezer. I thawed them and left the apartment to run errands. When I came home famished, I dried the fish with paper towels and marinated them until I could no longer stand my rumbling stomach. While the rice was cooking, I prepped the rest of the ingredients. Garlic paste will work best here, but you can just mince a whole head of garlic as substitute. (There’s no reason for less garlic, is there?) Make sure you fry all the spices in very hot oil for the best flavor. If it can be helped, don’t use dried curry leaves. The fresh ones fry so awesomely.

Ingredients:
2 fillets of Swai, or any white fish, patted dry with paper towel
2 tbsps turmeric
2 tbsps red chili powder
salt
oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
8 cloves of garlic, minced
10 fresh curry leaves
1 lime, juice and zest

1. Marinate the fish for several minutes. Sprinkle turmeric, red chili powder and salt on both sides of the fillets. Set aside until ready to cook.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet. When oil starts to smoke, sauté the onions and cook until light brown. Add garlic and cook until golden. Add the curry leaves to crisp.
3. Move the spices to the side of the skillet and add a little bit more of oil until hot. Fry the fish for 4 minutes on one side. Feel free to move the spices on top of the fish if you need more room. Gently flip the fish using a spatula and fry the other side for another 4. Squeeze lemon juice and sprinkle with zest before serving.

Related post/s:
I buy my fresh curry leaves from Kalustyan’s
My friend Jim loves some Swai