A white fish stew is a wonderfully simple dish that typically features fish fillets gently simmered in a flavourful broth. It takes minimum time and effort and reliably produces a comforting stew with tender chunks of fish and lots of sauce for dipping and pouring over. The variations of sauce are countless – with its mild taste, white fish pairs like a dream with many different ingredients. In this recipe, we bring in bold flavours of ginger, curry leaves, mustard and cumin seeds to create a rich, fragrant, savory base with a gentle exotic touch.
The Flavour Affair:
White Fish + Onion + Garlic + Ginger + Curry Leaves + Mustard Seeds + Cumin Seeds + Tomatoes + Salt
This combination is a great way to introduce new flavours to your daily menu. The taste of curry leaves, mustard and cumin seeds is present without being overpowering, offering a ‘sneak peak’ into cuisines of India and Sri Lanka.
White Fish: use any firm white fish that is able to hold its shape, such as grouper, hamour or cod.
Onions and Garlic: sautéed in a little olive oil, they release deep, warm flavours that are the foundation of the sauce.
Ginger: adds heat and brings in an invigorating aroma.
Curry Leaves: enhance the flavour with a savory, musky, “meaty” aspects that release during tempering. Fresh curry leaves are available in specialty supermarkets or international section of your grocery store.
Mustard Seeds: I use yellow mustard seeds for this recipe. They are spicy, tangy and slightly sour.
Cumin Seeds: add a warm pungency to the dish.
Tomatoes: fresh chopped tomatoes are added to the sautéed aromatics and spices to create the bulk for the sauce.
Salt: a pinch of salt to round off the flavours.
.
Optional Ingredients
.
Turmeric: if you like the taste of turmeric, you can add 1/3 tsp of powdered spice to the sauce to enhance it with more earthy notes.
Coriander: a few leaves scattered over help enliven the dish, which is particularly good on a warmer day.
Preparation Tips for White Fish Stew in Tomato Sauce with Aromatics and Spices:
This recipe starts with frying spices and aromatics. Both cook fast, meaning we need to move fast. That is why I always recommend to prep all ingredients beforehand and line them up within an easy reach. So:
- Slice the onions and curry leaves, mince garlic and ginger and keep them separately;
- Measure and set aside mustard and cumin seeds;
- Prep the tomatoes: cut them in halves, place into a large bowl and pour over boiling water. Leave until the water cools down a bit, take out and peel the skin off. Finely chop and set aside.
- Wash the fish fillets and pat dry. Cut into large chunks (the fish will flake as it cooks, turning into bite-size pieces).
- Have an oil splatter shield ready. As they heat, mustard seeds start popping like crazy.
Once you’ve got everything at hand, the process is very straightforward:
- Heat oil to medium-high, add mustard and cumin seeds and fry until they start to pop;
- Immediately add the onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes until translucent;
- Add garlic and curry leaves and fry for another minute or two until the aromas develop;
- Add the tomatoes, stir in minced ginger, season with salt and turmeric, is using, and simmer for 5-7 minutes for the flavours to blend in;
- Tuck in the chunks of fish and continue to gently simmer until the fish turns opaque and is therefore done.
That’s it! Sprinkle over a few cilantro leaves and serve the stew over rice or with fresh bread to mop up all the delicious juices.
Another beauty of this recipe is that it it easily customizable. Not a fan of curry leaves or mustard seeds? Use bay leaf, fennel or coriander instead, or load the sauce with a fragrant mix of Mediterranean herbs for a completely different feel.
Looking for more white fish recipes? Here’s a couple of ideas:
Orzo with Chorizo and White Fish
Kingfish Stew with Green Pumpkin and Potatoes
.
White Fish Stew in Tomato Sauce with Spices and Aromatics
Equipment
- 1 large casserole
Ingredients
- 1 kg white fish fillets see notes
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 red onion thinly sliced
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- 20 curry leaves thinly sliced
- 3 tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
- 5 cm piece of fresh ginger grated
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 tsp ground turmeric optional
- Fresh coriander leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Heat 3 tbsp of cooking oil to medium-high.
- Add mustard and cumin seeds and fry until mustard seeds start to pop.
- Add the onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes until it becomes translucent.
- Add minced garlic and curry leaves and fry for further couple of minutes until the aromas develop.
- Add the tomatoes and stir in grated ginger, salt and turmeric powder, if using.
- Simmer for 5-7 minutes for the flavours to blend.
- Tuck in the chunks of fish and continue to simmer for another 5-7 minutes, turning occasionally, until the fish turns opaque.
- Sprinkle with fresh coriander leaves and serve with rice, fresh bread or paratha.
Notes
- For the best results, use chunky firm white fish such as grouper, hamour or cod.
- The stew can stay in the fridge for up to two days. You can also prepare the sauce in advance and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.
17 Responses
Good day! Would you mind if I share your blog with my zynga group? There’s a lot of folks that I think would really enjoy your content. Please let me know. Cheers
Enjoyed studying this, very good stuff, regards. “Be not careless in deeds, nor confused in words, nor rambling in thought.” by Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.
Please let me know if you’re looking for a article writer for your site. You have some really good posts and I feel I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d absolutely love to write some articles for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please blast me an e-mail if interested. Thanks!
What’s Taking place i am new to this, I stumbled upon this I have discovered It absolutely useful and it has helped me out loads. I’m hoping to give a contribution & assist other users like its aided me. Great job.
Hey! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could find a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having problems finding one? Thanks a lot!
We are a bunch of volunteers and opening a new scheme in our community. Your website offered us with valuable info to paintings on. You have done a formidable process and our whole neighborhood will likely be thankful to you.
Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after reading through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Nonetheless, I’m definitely delighted I found it and I’ll be bookmarking and checking back often!
Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after browsing through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m definitely happy I found it and I’ll be book-marking and checking back frequently!
I believe this internet site contains very fantastic written content material articles.
Good day very nice blog!! Man .. Excellent .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your site and take the feeds alsoKI’m satisfied to seek out numerous useful info here within the submit, we’d like develop extra techniques on this regard, thank you for sharing. . . . . .
Good day! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I truly enjoy reading through your posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that go over the same subjects? Many thanks!
An impressive share, I just given this onto a colleague who was doing a little analysis on this. And he in fact bought me breakfast because I found it for him.. smile. So let me reword that: Thnx for the treat! But yeah Thnkx for spending the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love reading more on this topic. If possible, as you become expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more details? It is highly helpful for me. Big thumb up for this blog post!
Pretty! This was a really wonderful post. Thank you for your provided information.
Hello my loved one! I want to say that this post is awesome, great written and come with approximately all significant infos. I would like to look more posts like this.
Does your site have a contact page? I’m having a tough time locating it but, I’d like to shoot you an e-mail. I’ve got some creative ideas for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great blog and I look forward to seeing it improve over time.
hello there and thank you in your info – I’ve definitely picked up anything new from proper here. I did on the other hand expertise a few technical issues the use of this site, as I skilled to reload the site a lot of times previous to I could get it to load correctly. I have been brooding about in case your web hosting is OK? No longer that I am complaining, but slow loading cases occasions will sometimes have an effect on your placement in google and could damage your high-quality score if advertising and ***********|advertising|advertising|advertising and *********** with Adwords. Well I am including this RSS to my e-mail and can look out for a lot more of your respective fascinating content. Make sure you update this once more very soon..
I loved as much as you’ll receive carried out right here. The sketch is tasteful, your authored material stylish. nonetheless, you command get got an impatience over that you wish be delivering the following. unwell unquestionably come further formerly again as exactly the same nearly very often inside case you shield this increase.