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Indian cooking / Dishes / Grilled Sea Bream with Coconut & Coriander Chutney
Grilled Sea Bream with Coconut & Coriander Chutney ()

Grilled Sea Bream with Coconut & Coriander Chutney

Non-vegetarianOrigin Kerala

Whole sea bream is coated in a spiced salt marinade, griddled, then finished under the grill and served with a fresh coconut and coriander chutney and lime. The fish is savoury and tender, with a bright, herby, lightly spicy chutney alongside.

Tempering for the chutney

6 gStirred into hot oil for the chutney (step 1)
Keep whole; add to the hot oil with the chana dal and curry leaves.

Ginger garlic paste

30 gStirred into the fish marinade (step 4)
Keep as a paste; mix it into the marinade bowl.

Marinade spices

10 gStirred into the fish marinade (step 4)
01
3 g1 teaspoon
spice
02
2 g1 teaspoon
spice
03
2.2 g1 teaspoon
spice
04
3 g1 teaspoon
spice
Stir into the marinade bowl with the oil, salt and ginger garlic paste.

Everything else

01
Whole sea breamgutted and descaled
400–500 g
fish
02
Lime · Nimbucut into wedges
50 g1 lime
fruit
03
228 g250 ml
oil/fat
04
4.2 g1 teaspoon
legume
05
~30 ghandful
herb
07
Fresh ginger · Adrakpeeled and grated
50 g
aromatic
08
18 g3 chillies
vegetable
09
200 g
fruit
10
46 g3 tablespoons
souring agent
11
to taste
salt
12
to taste
sweetener
13
14 g1 tablespoon
oil/fat
14
50 g
salt

Method

  1. Heat 30 g of the 228 g vegetable oil in a large heavy pan over medium heat. Add the tempering for the chutney, 4.2 g chana dal and 30 g curry leaf; stir for about 30 seconds, until the seeds pop. Take off the heat and let cool to room temperature.
  2. Put 400 g coriander leaves, 50 g ginger, 18 g green chilli and 200 g coconut in a food processor and blend. With the motor running, pour in the rest of the 228 g vegetable oil in a thin stream until the chutney is thick and smooth.
  3. Scrape the chutney into a bowl. Stir in the cooled tempering and its oil, then 45.9 g lemon juice. Season to taste with sea salt and caster sugar. Chill until needed and bring back to room temperature before serving.
  4. In a large bowl, mix 13.5 g vegetable oil, 50 g sea salt, 30 g ginger garlic paste and the marinade spices. Pat the 400–500 g sea bream dry, put it in the bowl and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
  5. Heat a griddle pan over medium-high heat and brush with a little oil. Griddle the fish for about 4 minutes on each side.
  6. Move the pan to a preheated grill (broiler) and cook until the fish is just tender.
  7. Serve with 50 g lime, cut into wedges, and the chutney.

Don't have something?

Whole sea bream
  • Whole pomfret

    Use the same weight; score the skin and cook for a similar time, checking that the flesh at the bone is opaque.

  • Whole mackerel

    Use the same weight; it is oilier and stronger, so reduce cooking by a few minutes and serve with lemon.

  • Whole fish

    Use the same weight of any firm whole fish; adjust cooking by thickness, not just weight.

Lime
  • Lemon

    Use the same weight; sharper and less floral, so reduce any extra souring slightly.

  • Lemon juice

    Use about 30 g juice per lime (2 tbsp), strain pips; add at the end for fresh sourness.

  • Dried mango powder

    Use 1 g amchoor for about 15 g lime juice; add early with spices; gives dry mango sourness, not citrus aroma.

Vegetable oil
  • Peanut oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.

  • Ghee

    Use 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.

  • Mustard oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.

Black mustard seed
  • Mustard seeds

    Use equal weight. Pop in hot fat until they crackle and turn greyish; yields an almost identical nutty, pungent finish.

  • Yellow mustard seeds

    Use equal weight. Fry over medium heat; delivers a milder, sweeter pop and turns bitter quickly if the oil is excessively hot.

Chana dal
  • Yellow split peas

    Use 100% of the weight. Soak for at least 1 hour; takes about 10 minutes longer to cook through and has a marginally earthier flavour.

  • Pigeon peas

    Use 100% of the weight. Reduces cooking time by about 10 minutes and breaks down softer, giving a smoother consistency rather than distinct grains.

  • Black gram

    For tempering or tadka only: use 70% of the weight. Browns faster in hot oil, providing a nutty, crunchy bite.

Curry leaf
  • Bay leaf

    Fry 1 bay leaf for every 5 curry leaves in hot oil; imparts a warm, woodsy background note, but misses the citrus-sulphury punch entirely.

  • Lime juice

    Add a small squeeze (about 5 ml per sprig of curry leaves) right before serving; provides sharp citrus top notes without the toasty, herbal aroma.

Dried kashmiri chilli
  • Kashmiri chilli powder

    Use 1 g powder for every 1.5 g whole dried chilli; whisk with a spoonful of warm water and stir into the masala to provide identical ruby colour and mild heat.

  • Dried red chilli

    Use 35% to 40% of the weight; discard seeds before tearing into oil to temper. Delivers a much fiercer heat, with significantly less red colouring.

Coriander leaves
  • Coriander (cilantro) or basil

    Use the same weight, choosing the coriander element if available. If only basil is available, expect a sweeter, more aniseed flavour.

  • Basil leaves

    Use the same weight. Basil is sweeter and more aromatic in a different way; add near the end so it keeps its perfume.

  • Coriander paste

    Use 1.5 times the weight and reduce other liquid slightly; it is less fresh and more concentrated, so taste before adding more.

Fresh ginger
  • Ginger paste

    Use equal weight. Sauté in hot fat until the raw allium smell disappears; slightly wetter, but provides identical warmth and pungency.

  • Ground ginger

    Use 20% to 25% of the weight (1 g for every 4 to 5 g fresh). Stir into the gravy; adds peppery heat and warmth, though it misses the crisp, zesty kick of raw root.

Green chilli
  • Chilli powder

    Use 10 to 15% of the weight (about 1/4 teaspoon per chilli); imparts dry pungent heat and reddens the dish without the grassy crunch.

  • Dried red chilli

    Use 1 dried pod per fresh green chilli; snap in half and temper in hot oil for a deeper, toastier heat.

Coconut
  • Fresh coconut

    Use equal weight freshly grated or diced. Delivers the identical sweet, milky taste and juicy texture.

  • Desiccated coconut

    Use 60% of the weight and soak in hot water or milk for 15 minutes before using. The finished dish will be slightly sweeter and less fibrous.

  • Dried coconut

    Finely grate and use 50% of the weight, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes. Yields a firmer chew and a denser, oilier coconut aroma.

Lemon juice
  • Lime juice

    Use equal volume or weight; delivers almost identical sharp acidity with a faintly more aromatic, bitter-edged profile.

  • Dried mango powder

    Use 25% of the weight (about 1 g amchoor for 4 g juice); provides clean fruity tartness without thinning the sauce.

  • White vinegar

    Use 75% of the volume; gives direct sourness without any citrus floral fragrance.

Caster sugar
  • Granulated sugar

    Use the same weight. It is slightly coarser, so stir a little longer to dissolve; in baking, grind briefly if a fine texture matters.

  • Demerara sugar

    Use the same weight, but dissolve it earlier as it is coarser. It adds a light caramel note and a little colour.

  • Ground jaggery or soft brown sugar

    Use the same weight; crush or grate jaggery first. It darkens the dish and adds molasses flavour, so reduce other liquid slightly.

Ginger garlic paste
  • Ginger and garlic paste

    Use the same weight; the difference is only the order of the names.

  • Garlic paste

    Mix with an equal weight of ginger paste and use the same total weight.

  • Garlic

    For 20 g paste use about 10 g crushed garlic and 10 g grated ginger root with a splash of water. Add a little extra water if the dish looks dry.

Nigella seeds
  • Black cumin seeds

    Use equal weight. Imparts an earthy, slightly bitter note in temperings, though it lacks nigella's oniony sharpness.

  • Black sesame seeds

    Use equal weight. Gives a similar speckled appearance and light crunch on breads, but provides a nutty rather than herbaceous, onion-like flavour.

Fennel seed
  • Aniseed

    Use 75% of the weight. Fry in hot oil or ghee; has a sharper, more pronounced liquorice flavour, so use a lighter hand.

  • Ground fennel seed

    Use 60% of the weight. Stir into the sauce with ground masalas; provides identical sweet aniseed flavour without whole seed crunch.

  • Star anise

    Use one point (single carpel) per 1 g of fennel seeds. Simmer in gravies and remove before serving; gives a deeper, woodier liquorice aroma.

Caraway seeds
  • Fennel seed

    Same weight, lightly crushed; sweeter and milder but the closest match for the anise note.

  • Cumin seed

    Use two-thirds the weight; earthier and warmer, losing most of the aniseed character — good in breads and root vegetables.

  • Carom seeds

    Use half the weight; much more pungent and thyme-like, so add early in hot oil to soften it.

Ground turmeric
  • Ground ginger

    Use 50% of the weight. Mimics turmeric's warm, earthy, rhizome background, but provides none of the golden-yellow colour.

  • Saffron

    Steep a tiny pinch (0.1 g per 2 g turmeric) in 2 tbsp warm water; use to match the rich golden hue. Contributes an aristocratic, honeyed floral flavour rather than earthy bitterness.

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