Grilled Bassa with garlic spinach

Anecdote

Who says old friendships are the only friendships? Shalina, an actor by passion, is my most recent friend. Sharing is not always easy, especially the non materialistic type. This was was easy. It came easily. And it has been fun.

Shalina like me enjoys her food, both to eat and to cook. But unlike me she stays fit. Sometime during the times of yore, she grappled with over-weight issues. This yoga expert, weights pusher and gym-freak has many innovative healthy food ideas. One such is the recipe below. This delicious disarming dish is a lot like the way she styles herself. Her winning quotient is casual charm and easy attractiveness. 

My biggest disconnect with Shals was her love for dogs, she pets strays and I am mortally petrified of pets. Sigh, very again disarmingly, she has won that battle too! Now I order her huge dog (read tiger) around and play ball with him which I prise out from his mouth.

Stuff that you must have:

Spinach, 2 bundles

Garlic, a few cloves

Bassa, half a kg

Chick pea, 75 grams

Tomato, 1 large

Dry red chilli, 1

Garlic, a few pods

Olive Oil

Oregano

White vinegar

Mexican spice, a few spoons. Available in any gourmet store

What to do:

Spinach - chop roughly, crush 2-3 cloves garlic. Add garlic in heated pan (no oil) just dry roast, then add spinach. Let it cook in the water given out by the spinach. Use full flame, no cover, or will remain very watery. The idea is not to overcook the spinach. So don't cook till its dark green and all completely wilted. Also one can avoid salt when cooking this way as spinach contains its own salt. Salt last can be added if one feels the need to.

Optional: can add 1/2 tsp crushed black pepper

Fish - Cut bassa (or any boneless fish) into 3-4 inch pieces. Pat dry and add Mexican spice and little salt. (always check if the spices have pre-added salt). Put aside for 1/2 hr. Cook fish by grilling. Or can also pan cook in 1 spoon olive oil. Bassa cooks very fast. Cook fish till slightly brown on the outside.

Chickpea sauce: This is a very nutritous and filling sauce that is also often used in pastas in place of the white cheese sauce. This one is a modified version. So since this is a dinner menu and some of us want to avoid 'carbs' for dinner, this is a good thing to use as its so filling.

Soak a large handful of chckpeas for 2-3 hrs (or more). Drain. Blend together chickpeas, one dry red chilli, 1 raw tomato, salt to taste, 2 cloves garlic (or depending on taste..if you are partial to garlic , you can add 4-5), 1 tsp white  vinegar, little water and grind to a paste.

In a thick pan heat 1 teaspoon olive oil and add the paste, some oregano and cook for a min or two. Don't allow it to get lumpy. Has to be a smooth paste.

Tomatoes: Slice in rounds. Grill with some dried basil or parley (fresh if available) and salt sprinkled over them. They cook in about one or two minutes.

How to serve:

Before serving squeeze lime on fish. Use fresh parsley to garnish if you like.

Trivia: 

Spinach was the first frozen vegetable to be sold.