Recipe: Fish Moilee

Fish Moilee
Serves- 4-5 people

Ingredients:

• Any white fish, like sea bass - 2 pounds
  
• 1.5 White Spanish onion, medium size, chopped fine
  
• Ginger, chopped -1 tbsp
  
• Ginger , julienne -1 tsp
  
• Garlic, chopped -1 tsp
  
• Green chilies, sliced - 4 ea.
  
• Tomatoes, sliced -2 ea.
  
• Coconut milk - 16oz.
  
• Salt and pepper - to taste
  
• Rice flour - 1tbsp
  
• Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
  
• Red chili powder- 1/4 tsp
  
• Roasted cumin powder- 1/4 tsp
  
• Dried unsweetened coconut powder. -2 tbsp
  
• Fennel powder.- 1/4 tsp
  
• Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
  
• Fennel seeds -1/4 tsp
  
• Whole dried chili - 1 ea.
  
• Curry leaf, fresh - 4-5 ea.
  
• Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
  
• Clarified butter - 2tbsp
  

Method:

1. In a heavy bottom pan, heat 1 tbsp of the butter and add the mustard seeds, dried chili, fennel seeds and the cumin seeds.
   
   
2. Once the spices have popped, add the chopped onions and sauté them until translucent.
   
   
3. Add the chopped ginger, garlic and half of the sliced green chilies. Reduce the fire and sauté them for about 5 minutes.
   
   
4. Add the powdered spices and the coconut powder and cook some more for another 1 minute until they are fragrant. Add the coconut milk and little bit of water to adjust the consistency if required. The consistency of the sauce should be like a cream soup.
   
   
5. Add the tomatoes and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes. At this point add the chunks of the fish and cook for another 5-7 minutes.
   
   
6. Check the doneness of the fish, by breaking it by a fork and shut the fire.
   
   
7. In a separate pan, heat the remaining butter and add the remaining chilies and julienned ginger and the curry leaves. Cook everything together for a minute and put that on top of fish curry. Enjoy it with your favorite rice.

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About Sachin Chopra:

The 34-year-old chef, a 1998 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park in N.Y., honed his skills as a line cook at New York's famed four-star Daniel.

During his stint there, Chopra managed to effortlessly integrate the flavors of his culture into his cooking, impressing the likes of Daniel's then-Chef de Cuisine Alex Lee.

Chopra went on to become sous chef at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City, before becoming a private chef for a year and a half. Next, he was hired as executive chef of Restaurant Tiffin in New York City, which specialized in fusion Indian vegetarian cuisine.

Sachin soon opened his own Indian-Spanish-American small plates restaurant, Tapasserie, in New York. A year later he became executive chef-partner of Spice Grill, also in New York.

He headed to California in 2003, to be executive sous chef of San Jose's Amber India, before becoming executive chef of the innovative Mantra in downtown Palo Alto where he worked for two years.

Perhaps it's no surprise that Chopra became a chef. He's always loved to cook, coming from a family of cooks. As a teen-ager, he revered the cooking of the late-Raji Jallepalli, owner of Restaurant Raji in Memphis and Tamarind in Manhattan, who was known for her healthful, yet gutsy Indian cuisine created with French techniques.

At Sakoon, Chopra entices his diners to embark on a culinary journey of Indian cuisine with regional influences accented with modern interpretations using local sustainable ingredients and vibrant flavors.

Sakoon
357 Castro Street
Mountain View, CA 94041-1256
Phone: (650) 965-2000
Website: www.sakoonrestaurant.com