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Arts & Entertainment

Doi Maach - Yogurt Fish

Dig in to some Bengali comfort food.

Doi Maach (Yogurt Fish)

Turmeric is one of the ingredients in this recipe. My dermatologist is forever after me to include turmeric in my diet. She believes it helps to prevent sun damage due to its antioxidant abilities. Of course, there have been many studies that claim turmeric also reduces inflammation and speeds wound healing. The antioxidant curcumin is the active compound in turmeric that has gotten the attention of the American Cancer Society. Let’s hope that further studies will show that it can help to prevent skin cancer.

Doi Maach a wonderful Bengali comfort dish. There are so many flavors that come together beautifully in this rich and tasty yogurt sauce.  I
used tilapia as the fish of choice here but you can use any firm white fish.
This is a curry dish but you don’t use curry powder instead you make a Garam Masala. My whole family loved this sauce!

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Doi Maach

4 Tilapia fillets

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2 teaspoons of turmeric

1 teaspoon of salt

2 Tablespoons of canola oil

Garam Masala

4 green cardamom pods, smash the pods with a mallet and remove the shells

4 whole cloves

3 bay leaves

1” cinnamon stick

Yogurt Sauce

½ lg. onion pulsed to a paste

1 Tablespoon of dried currants

2 Tablespoons of minced garlic

2 Tablespoons of minced ginger

½ teaspoon of chili powder

½ teaspoon of turmeric

2 Serrano chilies, stemmed and sliced lengthwise

½ cup of yogurt

1/3 cup of water

½ teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of sugar

Hot cooked Basmati Rice

½ cup of cilantro chopped

In a spice grinder, add the green cardamom seeds, the cloves, bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Grind to a powder and set the garam masala aside.

Dust the fish on both sides with the turmeric and salt. Let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan. Sauté the fish on medium heat for about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove the fish from the pan and set on a plate. Do not wipe out the pan.

Mix the yogurt, 2 tablespoons of the onion paste, garlic and 1 tablespoon of the ginger, chili powder, sugar and turmeric and set aside.

Heat the sauté pan again with an additional tablespoon of oil on medium low heat. Add the garam masala and sauté for 1 minute. Add the remaining onion paste and currants. Sauté until the onions are caramelized about 6-7 minutes. Add the chilies and remaining ginger. Sauté for about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add a couple of tablespoons of the yogurt mixture off the heat and whisk in gently. Bring pan back over the heat and gradually add the yogurt. Too much heat too quickly will curdle the yogurt. When yogurt mixture is fully incorporated add the water and salt and whisk well. Gently add the pieces of fish to the sauce and cover with a lid. Cook for about 10 minutes. Serve over hot cooked basmati rice and top with chopped cilantro.

Serves 4

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