Paul’s Fish and Green Tomato Curry

Some of you asked for my husband’s fish and green tomato curry recipe when I posted someautumn culinary adventures recently. He played coy for a bit, but has agreed to share, admitting that he found the basic inspiration on the web after Googling “green tomatoes curry fish.” Back and forth between the several recipes he found, he ended up putting a few together. And improving, he claims (convincingly, I will testify, having tasted the results!). Feel free to adapt his instructions should you have any green tomatoes available, or try following the same Google trail for other versions:

Ingredients/Preparations:

500-600 kg Firm-fleshed white fish (sole, halibut, cod) cut into chunks and marinated with (1/2 tsp.) paprika, (1 tbsp.) olive, and lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon, squeezed) for about 20 to 30 minutes.thanks to Marsha for noting the error. 500-600 kilograms IS a lot of fish. 500-600g. is more likely — and if you’re more comfy with Imperial, something like 1 to 1 1/2 pounds should work.

Masala mix (he mixes his own with 1/2-1 teaspoon of turmeric, coriander, salt and pepper, small sprinkle of cayenne powder, 1 tbsp. diced ginger, 1 tsp. of a good Madras-style curry powder mix)

Dice 1 medium to large onion, finely dice 1-2 chopped garlic cloves.

Cut up green tomatoes 2-4 cups roughly chopped (not too small).

Cinnamon stick

Start by heating up 2-3 tbsps of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.

Add onions, then garlic. Cook ’til onions translucent, slightly browned. Add the Masala mix, stir in for about a minute, then add the chopped green tomatoes and 1 cinnamon stick

Cover, simmer until tomatoes have broken down and are turning into a fairly thick paste (some chunks left).

When the sauce is thick, cooked, add a bit of water to dilute if necessary, just enough so that you can add the fish and cook until flesh is opaque, shouldn’t take longer than 3 minutes.

Add a couple of tablespoons of sour cream. You could sprinkle fresh cilantro over the top. Serve on basmati rice.

This made enough for the two of us for dinner — Paul eats as much as 2, despite having retained his 32-inch waist for 40+ years (No idea how he does it!) — and there was enough for my lunch the next day.

I’m not sure how many of you will be able to find green tomatoes to try this out — let me know if you do, please. I’ve been trying to think of what might substitute for the green tomatoes — it would, of course, be a completely different dish with ripe ones. I suspect tart plums might give a similar result, although they wouldn’t break down the same way, I shouldn’t think, and they have the same problem of not being available for long. But perhaps pears or apples, sliced. . . .Suggestions? I think we’ll just keep the recipe handy for next year’s surfeit of unripe tomatoes. . .