Flounder in a Spicy Tomato Sauce

When I was growing up, one of the scariest thing I was asked to eat was a whole red snapper,
eyeballs and all, in a oniony tomato sauce. Grandma would make this dish since it was one of my Mom's favorites and each time I would just take a taste of the sauce making sure the eyeball wasn't staring at me.While my Abuelas' dish smelled good and the sauce was tasty; truly it scared the daylights out of me. I had this fear that the fish wasn't really cooked, or I'd swallow a bone, or some other crazy notion. I guess I really should have prefaced this post with the statement that as a child, for better or worse, I had an overactive imagination.

Kishore's Fish Curry

Ok, ok I still have an overactive imagination...Anyway, I rarely cook fish in sauce, (see above) but Kishore does and I thought to myself, 'you know he loves Grandmas' cooking why not give her recipe a go.' I made a few adjustments, tweaked it here, changed the fish and Voila, Flounder in a Spicy Tomato Sauce! These slight changes really helped quell my childhood irrational fears.

• Fish - from Whole Snapper to Flounder Filets - Little to No Bones
• Turmeric Treatment - Hey why not, adds a nice color and has antibacterial properties!
• Browning the Fish - Gives the fish a little more structure so it doesn't fall apart in the sauce.
• Sauce - Left the tomatoes a little more rustic rather than cooking them down all the way.

This dish has just the right amount of heat mixed in a rustic spiced tomato sauce which compliments the flaky, citrusy Flounder perfectly.

Here's my recipe for Flounder with a Spicy Tomato Sauce:


Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 lb Flounder cut into 3" pieces
1 Red Onion chopped
1 cup Tomatoes chopped
1 Tblsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Red Chili Powder
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Ground Coriander
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Ground Fennel Seeds
2 Tbsp of Oil
Juice of 1 Lemon
Handful of Fresh Cilantro Chopped

Prep Work: Cut the fish and marinate in a mix of the lemon juice, 1/2 tsp of salt, and 1/2 tsp of turmeric for 20 minutes.

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a frying pan and lightly brown the marinade fish on either side. Drain on paper towels and reserve for later.

2. Add the onions to the pan and cook till translucent, then add the garlic ginger paste and cook for about 1 minute. Then add the Red Chili, Turmeric, Ground Coriander, Ground Fennel, Salt, Sugar and cook till fragrant.

3. Add the chopped tomatoes with their liquid and half the cilantro, stir and cook covered for 5 minutes. Uncover and cook another 5 minutes till it reduces to a thicker sauce.

4. Gently stir in the fish, add in the rest of the cilantro, and cook for 5 minutes.

Serve with Rice, and Garnish with Cilantro.

Enjoy!