
This dish I can eat in sandwiches, with chapatis or plain rice! If I have a bowl of this in my fridge I can eat it for consecutive meals on the trot!
There is something about the sweetness from the leeks and heat from dried chillies that give you a tingle but a rounded taste highlighting the mackerel.
I share this as its 1 of my favourite evolved dishes that has improved, I think, over time.
Ingredients:
1 tin of Mackerel fillets in brine. See image below.
Keep the brine to use.
2 onions sliced
4 dried red chillies torn
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tomato chopped
1 leek sliced
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
4 tbsp veg oil
Couple of green chillies slit or chopped.
1 small naga (optional)
Heat the oil in non stick pan.
Add dried torn chillies. Fry till slightly dark then add garlic and stir again for few seconds.
Add your sliced onions.
Cook this for a while till the onions are softened. You can cover on low to speed up the process.
When softened add tomatoes and green chillies, now fry for few minutes. If you are using hot peppers add now as I did my naga.
Pour in all the brine from the tin. This is your salt and flavour and the cooking liquid for next stage.
Cover on low and cook till onions and tomatoes are mushy and soft and the liquid is almost gone.
Now add your powdered spices.
Stir this in and cook the spices for a while until the oil splits.
Add in your mackeral, stir well to mix and cover with spices. Break up the fish. Add your sliced leeks.
You will now continue to cook this on medium, stirring occasionally, breaking up the fillets and drying up all residue.
This process will help caramelise all spices and sugars from the onions and leeks and remove the rawness out of fish and leeks melding the flavours together.
Keep doing this till there is no residue left and you can see oil craters or bubbles.
Your dish is done.
Although a dry dish it is packed with plenty of flavours to tickle your taste buds!
Step by step process below.
Add dried torn chillies, fry till slightly dark.
Cook this for a while till the onions are softened. You can cover on low to speed up the process.
Cook this for a few minutes more.
Stir this in and cook the spices for a while untill the oil splits. Do not burn or let it stick to pan. Add splashes of water if required but make sure each time you get to stage where oil splits.
Cover for a few minutes…just to soften up leeks
Your dish is done.
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