My Bengali fish eating mother would quirk up her nose at the sight of a Tilapia fish. To her it is really a step down from the 'Papda', 'Parshe' and 'Tangra'. All these three are names of classic small whole fish that we make curries out of. Bengali me, with a natural instinct to not agree with Ma, I always loved the flavours of the Tilapia fish cooked normally in a curry.
Even the poorly regarded Tilapia has such an interesting history. It was one of the three fish caught in the Biblical times from the sea of Galilee. In Egyptian art one finds a Tilapia hieroglyph above the heads of a tomb.
As they say, everyone has a story to tell. So does the Tilapia. I have always seen the black Tilapia. This time I caught (there goes my usual romantic drama again!!!) - I meant spotted and bought pink ones. They were beautiful, smiling, almost tickled pink. So this is what I did to them. You must too. Soon.
Assuming that you have asked the seller to clean it well, wash the whole fish nicely. Now make a couple of slanting gashes on the body on both sides. Marinade for about half an hour with salt, turmeric and chilly powder using measures up to your taste. I used half a tsp of each. Then lightly pan fry in little warm oil on both sides till lightly golden in colour. For this use a non-stick pan please.
Make a paste of 3 onions, 4 pods of garlic and 1 green chilly. In 2 tbsp warm oil, fry the paste in low heat. After 3 mins, add 1 full tsp of coriander powder, cumin powder, chilly powder, dried curry powder, pepper powder and coconut powder each. I usually keep this powder medley ready in my fridge. For quickness you could instead use ready in a packet East Indian fish masala. Nicely cook the paste for atleast 6 mins or so. Now allow it to cool till it is at room temperature.
With your hand coat the masala onto the fish lovingly with some shoving into the gashes you had earlier created. Do this on both sides. Sprinkle some fresh coriander leaves and slit green chillies.
Grill for 20 mins at 150 degrees. Serve with a dash of lime or allow that to be a choice.
Even the poorly regarded Tilapia has such an interesting history. It was one of the three fish caught in the Biblical times from the sea of Galilee. In Egyptian art one finds a Tilapia hieroglyph above the heads of a tomb.
As they say, everyone has a story to tell. So does the Tilapia. I have always seen the black Tilapia. This time I caught (there goes my usual romantic drama again!!!) - I meant spotted and bought pink ones. They were beautiful, smiling, almost tickled pink. So this is what I did to them. You must too. Soon.
Assuming that you have asked the seller to clean it well, wash the whole fish nicely. Now make a couple of slanting gashes on the body on both sides. Marinade for about half an hour with salt, turmeric and chilly powder using measures up to your taste. I used half a tsp of each. Then lightly pan fry in little warm oil on both sides till lightly golden in colour. For this use a non-stick pan please.
Make a paste of 3 onions, 4 pods of garlic and 1 green chilly. In 2 tbsp warm oil, fry the paste in low heat. After 3 mins, add 1 full tsp of coriander powder, cumin powder, chilly powder, dried curry powder, pepper powder and coconut powder each. I usually keep this powder medley ready in my fridge. For quickness you could instead use ready in a packet East Indian fish masala. Nicely cook the paste for atleast 6 mins or so. Now allow it to cool till it is at room temperature.
With your hand coat the masala onto the fish lovingly with some shoving into the gashes you had earlier created. Do this on both sides. Sprinkle some fresh coriander leaves and slit green chillies.
Grill for 20 mins at 150 degrees. Serve with a dash of lime or allow that to be a choice.
