Maharashtrian Salmon Curry

This is a very fancy-sounding name for a simple salmon curry recipe, from the book Recipes from an Indian Kitchen. Oddly enough, I can’t find the same book on Amazon, and the book cover reveals no authors.

My mother bought it for me years ago at World Market. I’ve actually made many recipes from this book, and they’ve all been wonderful.

I love the idea of currying salmon, because salmon can really “stand up to” stronger flavors, since it alone has a stronger flavor. This dish involves broken up pieces of salmon in a curry sauce. Weird, but I decided to sort of honor the recipe’s author, whomever it may be.

Maharashtrian, by the way, refers to people, culture, language, and cuisine from the Indian state of Maharashtra, in the west and central part of India, according to the unknown author.

I only prepared two salmon filets to test out this recipe; my husband doesn’t like salmon. To make the dish less “soupy,” because of the higher ratio of sauce, I added steamed potatoes and zucchini to the salmon and sauce. If nothing else, add peas.

Maharashtrian Salmon Curry

1/3 cup vegetable or peanut oil
8 salmon steaks (about 5.5 ounces each)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon hot chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon tamarind paste
1 3/4 cups coconut milk
1 3/4 cups cold water

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the salmon. Season with salt and pepper on the non-skin side. Cook the salmon for 1 to 2 minutes per side to get some color on them. Remove from the skillet and set aside. Remove the skin.

Add the cornstarch, spices, salt, tamarind paste, and coconut milk to a saucepan. Add the water and whisk the mixture.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.

Add the lightly browned salmon and cook gently for 10 to 12 minutes. The fish should be cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly. Add the cooked vegetables, if using.

Serve immediately.

The curry flavor of this dish is wonderful. I wouldn’t add more tamarind paste or turmeric. But I don’t know why the salmon filets can’t be prepared, placed on a bed of rice, with the sauce over the top.