Salmon in Bengali Mustard Sauce
This Bengali dish is adapted from At Home With Madhur Jaffrey (Knopf, 2010). Serve with cooked white rice. This recipe first appeared in SAVEUR Issue #140, along with Madhur Jaffrey's story Making it Work.
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Credit: Todd Coleman
INGREDIENTS
4 3 oz. skinless salmon filets1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. mustard powder
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. brown mustard seeds
1/4 tsp. cumin seeds
1/4 tsp. fennel seeds
2 serrano chiles, split
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Rub fish evenly with half of the salt, turmeric, and cayenne; set aside. In a bowl, stir remaining salt, turmeric, and cayenne with powder and 1/2 cup water; set paste aside.2. Heat oil in 12″ skillet over medium-high heat; add mustard seeds; cook for 1–2 minutes. Add cumin and fennel, cook for 30 seconds; add paste and chiles. Add fish, and cook, basting, until done, 10–12 minutes.
The down side is in three parts.
1.-- How can you refer to the combination of ingredients 2 through 6 mixed
with a 1/2 cup of water a "paste"? It's a slurry.
2.-- 3 0z. of Salmon is not a large enough portion for an adult.
3.--I quartered it for 1 person and found it was so lacking in sauce I couldn't baste and didn't have enough sauce to properly moisten my rice. Why?
JB
I used enough salmon for 4 people and just adjusted the seasoning amounts.
However, I was expecting a sauce and 1/2 cup of water or even a bit more doesn't create a sauce.
I wonder if an ingredient is missing?
I'm going to try the creme fraiche someone mentioned above next time.