A creamy garlic fish curry with a tangy egg-and-vinegar base, gentle cumin warmth and a fresh tomato-coriander finish. The sauce is mild, rich and slightly sharp, with soft fish steaks folded back in at the end.
Ground cumin for the oil
3.2 gStirred into the hot oil and butter before the onion (step 3)
Crush 18 g garlic to a smooth paste and set it aside in a small bowl.
Whisk 100 g egg, 45 g malt vinegar and 25.2 g caster sugar in a bowl until the sugar dissolves; set aside.
Heat 27 g vegetable oil and 14.1 g butter in a heavy saucepan over a low heat.
Add the ground cumin for the oil and let it sizzle for a few seconds.
Add 150 g finely chopped onion and cook for 8–9 minutes, until softened.
Stir in the garlic paste and cook for 1 minute.
Add 23.4 g plain flour and stir quickly; cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly, until there are no lumps and the flour does not catch on the pan.
Pour in 600 ml water a little at a time, whisking to a smooth white sauce, then simmer for 2 minutes over a low heat.
Lay 550 g white fish steaks in the sauce, cover and simmer over a low heat for 4 minutes, until the fish is cooked through. Lift the fish out into a bowl and take the pan off the heat.
Whisk a quarter of the warm sauce into the egg mixture.
Put the pan with the remaining sauce back over a low heat, stir in the egg mixture and simmer for 6 minutes.
Add 6 g finely chopped green bird’s eye chilli and salt to taste, stirring continuously as the curry thickens slightly.
Return the fish to the pan and simmer for 1 minute.
Take off the heat and garnish with 68 g quartered cherry tomatoes and chopped coriander leaves.
Use 15% to 20% of the weight (about 1 g for every 5 to 6 g fresh cloves). Whisk into sauces; gives a savoury, toasted garlic flavour without raw pungency.
Use 80% of the weight, finely shredded and browned slowly with a pinch of asafoetida. Replicates the bulk and natural sweetness in gravies without allium.
For binding, use about 10 g chickpea flour mixed with 20 ml water per egg and rest for 10 minutes. Denser and nuttier; not suitable for baking or coating in the same way.