Sea Bass in Green Chutney
Here is my version of a very popular dish in which a whole fish is smothered in green chutney and then cooked in banana leaves. When I haven’t any banana leaves handy, I use foil, which seems to work perfectly well. Serve the fish with plain basmati rice. Tomato and Onion Relish is an ideal accompaniment.
Ingredients
- 675 –900 g whole sea bass with head and tail, cleaned
- 2.5 cm cube fresh root ginger
- 5 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 2 whole hot dried red peppers optional
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teacup chopped fresh green coriander leaves
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Wash the fish thoroughly inside and out under cold running water,
- Pat dry, inside and out.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.
- Peel and coarsely chop the ginger and garlic.
- Place them in an electric blender with 3 tablespoons water and blend to a smooth paste.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium–high heat, add the mustard seeds and stir for a few seconds until they begin to expand and pop.
- Add the red peppers, and stir them once.
- Pour in the paste from the blender, add the turmeric and fry, stirring, for about 2 minutes.
- Pour the contents of the frying pan into the blender.
- Add the coriander, lemon juice and salt.
- Blend to a smooth paste, adding up to 2 tablespoons of water if necessary.
- Line a large baking dish with a sheet of foil, big enough to enclose the fish.
- Lay the fish on the foil and cover with the coriander paste, inside and out.
- Fold the foil over the fish to enclose it completely,
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Carefully unwrap the fish and lift on to a warm platter.
- Spoon any green chutney in the foil on to the fish to serve.
