Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Saas ni Macchi
Saas ni Macchi (Fish in Creamy Garlic Sauce)

Saas ni Macchi

Fish in Creamy Garlic Sauce
Non-vegetarian

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)
01
Cumin seed · Jeeracoarsely ground
3.2 g1½ teaspoons
spice
Keep coarsely ground; it goes straight into the hot fat.

Everything else

01
18 g6 cloves
aromatic
02
27 g2 tablespoons
oil/fat
03
14 g1 tablespoon
dairy
04
Onion · Pyazfinely chopped
150 g1 onion
vegetable
05
23 g3 tablespoons
flour
06
White fish · Safed Machhlicut into steaks with the centre bone intact (cod, haddock or monkfish would be good options)
550 g
fish
07
4.5 g3 chillies
vegetable
08
to taste
salt
09
100 g2 eggs
egg
10
45 g3 tablespoons
souring agent
11
25 g2 tablespoons
sweetener
12
68 g4 tomatoes
vegetable
13
to taste
herb

Method

  1. Crush 18 g garlic to a smooth paste and set it aside in a small bowl.
  2. Whisk 100 g egg, 45 g malt vinegar and 25.2 g caster sugar in a bowl until the sugar dissolves; set aside.
  3. Heat 27 g vegetable oil and 14.1 g butter in a heavy saucepan over a low heat.
  4. Add the ground cumin for the oil and let it sizzle for a few seconds.
  5. Add 150 g finely chopped onion and cook for 8–9 minutes, until softened.
  6. Stir in the garlic paste and cook for 1 minute.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. Whisk a quarter of the warm sauce into the egg mixture.
  11. Put the pan with the remaining sauce back over a low heat, stir in the egg mixture and simmer for 6 minutes.
  12. Add 6 g finely chopped green bird’s eye chilli and salt to taste, stirring continuously as the curry thickens slightly.
  13. Return the fish to the pan and simmer for 1 minute.
  14. Take off the heat and garnish with 68 g quartered cherry tomatoes and chopped coriander leaves.

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Garlic
  • Garlic paste

    Use equal weight. Fry gently in oil or ghee with the ginger; incorporates smoothly into curries without visible minced bits.

  • Garlic powder

    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.

  • Shallot

    Use 1.5 times the weight, very finely minced. Sauté until golden; provides savoury allium sweetness, though it lacks garlic's pungent sulphur bite.

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.

Butter
  • Unsalted butter

    Use 100% of the weight. If the original recipe relies on salted table butter, add a pinch of salt to balance.

  • Ghee

    Use 80% to 85% of the weight. Ghee is pure butterfat with moisture removed; it yields a deeper, nuttier flavour and handles high heat better.

  • Vegetable oil

    Use 80% of the weight for frying or tempering. The dish loses sweet dairy richness but remains glossy and light.

Cumin seed
  • Ground cumin

    Use 70% of the weight; add with ground spices or sauce bases rather than hot oil tempering, where it scorches quickly and turns bitter.

  • Black cumin seeds

    Use equal weight for oil tempering. Delivers an earthy profile with an additional musky, smoky, and slightly bitter edge.

  • Fennel seed

    Use 60% of the weight for tempering; offers comparable warm aroma, but leans sweet and liquorice-like rather than savoury and earthy.

Onion
  • Shallot

    Use equal weight, finely sliced. Shallots soften and brown faster, giving a slightly sweeter and more delicate base to curries.

  • Cabbage

    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.

Plain flour
  • Whole wheat flour

    Use the same weight, add 10–15% more water and rest the dough for 20 minutes; the result is heavier and nuttier.

  • Rice flour

    Use the same weight for crisp coatings; for doughs use no more than half rice flour with wheat flour, or it will be crumbly.

  • Cornflour

    For thickening use half the weight, mixed with cold water; it is not suitable for bread or chapati dough.

White fish
  • Firm white fish fillet

    Use the same weight; cut into the size stated and shorten cooking by a few minutes if the fillet is thin.

  • Cod fillet

    Use the same weight; it flakes easily, so simmer gently and avoid stirring too much.

  • Haddock

    Use the same weight; it is slightly firmer and saltier, so reduce added salt.

Green bird's eye chilli
  • Bird's eye green chilli

    Use the same weight; heat and flavour are very close.

  • Green chilli

    Use 1.5 to 2 times the weight; deseed for less heat. Larger chillies are more watery.

  • Fresh green chilli

    Use 1.5 to 2 times the weight; chop finely and adjust heat by tasting.

Egg
  • Chickpea flour

    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.

  • Full-fat natural yoghurt

    Use about 30 g per egg for moisture and binding in koftas or fillings. Adds tang and softness; will not set or glaze like egg.

  • Tofu

    Use the same weight, mashed, for egg-like bulk in curries. Soft and bland; add extra spices and do not expect it to bind.

Malt vinegar
  • White malt vinegar

    Use the same weight; sharper and clearer; reduce salt slightly.

  • White vinegar

    Use 90% of the weight, diluted with 10% water; harsher, so taste.

  • Lime juice

    Use the same weight; fresher sourness but no malt flavour; reduce salt.

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.

Cherry tomato
  • Tomato

    Use the same weight; chop into similar pieces. More watery, so simmer a little longer or reduce other liquid.

  • Canned chopped tomatoes

    Use 90% of the weight; drain well. Cook 5–10 minutes longer to reduce the extra liquid.

  • Red bell pepper

    Use the same weight; chop. Sweeter and less acidic; add a squeeze of lime juice if the dish needs tartness.

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.

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Masala Omelettes
Masala Omelettes is savoury and juicy with a lightly crisp edge and a lemon squeeze, while this dish is mild, rich and slightly sharp with a creamy garlic sauce.
  • Same: Masala Omelettes shares cumin seed, green bird’s eye chilli, onion, coriander leaves, egg, tomato and oil or butter with this dish.
  • Different: Masala Omelettes has no fish, garlic, plain flour, malt vinegar or caster sugar, and it uses turmeric and kashmiri chilli powder, with egg as the main ingredient rather than an egg-and-vinegar sauce base.
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  • Same: Murghi Na Farcha shares garlic, cumin seed, green bird’s eye chilli, malt vinegar, plain flour, egg and salt with this dish.
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  • Different: It uses salmon chunks marinated in Greek yoghurt with crushed mustard, fennel, nigella, fenugreek and green chilli pickle and then grilled, while this dish uses white fish in a flour-thickened egg-and-vinegar creamy sauce with onion and cherry tomato.