Komola Salmon|Salmon cooked with Oranges and spices
Kamola Katla is a fish dish cooked with fragrant oranges made very popular by the Bengali movie Maacher Jhol. My Kamala Salmon has no relation to our Madame VP and is Salmon cooked with 🍊 oranges in a tangy, spicy Indian Curry
It's been a while since I wrote
here. A lot has happened since my last post but I won't go there right now.
I just wanted to write down this recipe so I don't forget.
Have you seen the movie?
If you are a Bengali, you must have seen @pratimdgupta 's famous movie #MaacherJhol. If you haven't, umm...don't know what to say, just watch it. It's either on Netflix or Prime. Even if you are not a Bengali, go ahead and watch it, turn on subtitles. Kamola Katla is a fish dish with oranges made very popular by the Bengali movie Maacher Jhol.
.
So I did not know about *Komola Kaatla* or Kaatla fish cooked with fragrant oranges before this movie. Yes, I probably live under a rock or a world where all our oranges were consumed.
a. As is.
b. In Juice form.
c. In a dessert like Komola Kheer.
.
In fact I had never even thought of pairing oranges with fish in an Indian curry until then!
The idea of oranges and fish seemed like a beautiful fragrant pair to try out. Since Salmon is our fish of choice and orange glazed salmon is pretty delicious I decided to make a Komola Salmon almost similar to the Kamola Kaatla. I have cooked this fish curry a few times now with Salmon. The tangy, spicy fish curry with soft morsels of oranges is really delicious and a favorite with my girls ❤
I cook it several different ways. In one option, I bake the salmon and then add to gravy. In another I directly add the fish to gravy and cook in there. Sometimes I add Green Pepper aka Capsicum, on other days Cauliflower. On good days I sprinkle a few sesame seeds and add more orange juice. On others make do with less
.
Possibilities are endless with this one. Any which way it's a delicious fish curry and is pretty simple to make.
I prep the fish in one of the two ways:
a. Marinate the salmon as instructed in the recipe, bake it with a drizzle
of mustard oil at 250F for 25 mins, then add to the gravy and finish cooking
there.
b. Marinate the salmon as instructed in the recipe, then add it directly to
the pan and cook in the gravy
Kamala Salmon | Salmon cooked with Orange in an Indian Curry
Prep
Make juice of 2 Navel oranges. From each orange, we get about 5 Tbsp or
1/4th cup of Juice
Salmon -- 6 pieces of salmon 3" x 4"
Marinate the salmon with
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Red chili Powder
salt
2 Tbsp Orange Juice
Keep aside for 15-20 minutes
While salmon is marinating we will get the onion-ginger-garlic masala
ready.
Heat up some oil and sauté the following
Onion - 1 medium chopped in large chunks
Ginger - 2" Chopped
Garlic - 6 cloves
Cool and make a paste. This is our onion-ginger-garlic paste
Start Cooking
In the same pan add some more oil. Not much. We like to keep oil low. I have
used Avocado or Mustard Oil in this dish, you can use Olive oil or Vegetable
Oil.
Temper the oil with
Green Cardamom - 2
Cloves - 2
Cinnamon stick - 1"
Tej Patta/Bay Leaf - 1
Green Chilies - 2 slit
Add the onion-ginger-garlic paste. Sauté for a couple of minutes.
Add 1 Green Capsicum chopped into small pieces.
Add the spices
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chili powder or Kashmiri Mirch - 1/2 tsp
Sprinkle a little water and sauté until the peppers are softened.
If you are cooking the salmon in the gravy, then now add the marinated salmon to the pan, making sure they are all in a single
layer. Cook for about 3 minutes. Gently flip the fish pieces.
Now add about 3 Tbsp of Orange Juice + 1/2 Cup of warm water. Gently mix and
let the gravy come to a simmer.
Note: If you have baked the salmon then once the gravy starts simmering, you will add the fish to the gravy
Once the gravy starts simmering add
Sugar - 1-2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Orange segments -- about 8 segments from a clementine
At this point taste the gravy and add about 1/4 Cup more of
orange juice for more flavor.
Cook for 3-4 more minutes until the orange segments are softened.
Switch off the gas.
Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of Bhaja Masala or Garam Masala.
Add some chopped Coriander.
Add couple of green chilies.
Cover and let the dish sit for about 5 minutes. This helps the flavors to
come together beautifully
Serve warm with steamed white rice or pulao.
