Frances and Matthew bought me Madhur Jaffrey’s cookbook, At Home With Madhur Jaffrey, as part of my most recent birthday present. They were both visiting this weekend for a friend’s wedding and tonight is my one night to feed them since they were at parties the rest of the time. It’s very hot today so I thought something a bit spicy would be nice. Normally I believe that if you have really good fish, you don’t hide it under a lot of sauce. However, tonight I’m trying this salmon recipe and was able to buy some lovely, fatty (those great Omega 3’s) King Salmon today  which is so flavorful that it should stand up to this sauce. We will have this along with Jaffrey’s  Moong Dal, Zucchini and Yellow Summer Squash with Cumin and Brown Basmati rice recipes. I thought a fruity, but crisp rose would go well and made my blueberry almond struesel cake for dessert.  Other than changing the serving sizes, I am really not changing much of anything. Maybe when I am more comfortable making these recipes, I will take to tweaking them.

Salmon in Bengali Mustard Sauce

Yield: 4 to 6 Servings

Ingredients

For Fish Rub

2 pounds (net) of a fatty salmon, skinned, boned and cut into 8 pieces

1/2 teaspoon Kosher or Sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

For Cooking

2 Tablespoons ground mustard (I like Coleman’s)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon Kosher or Sea salt

2 Tablespoons EVOO

1/2 teaspoon black or brown mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

2 fresh hot green or red chilies, slit slightly

Directions

1. Place the rub spices in a freezer bag and shake to mix. Add the fish pieces, seal the bag well and gently toss to mix. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes but up to 10 hours.
2. Put the mustard powder, cayenne, turmeric and salt in a medium jar or bowl. Add 2 Tablespoons of cold water and stir through. Then add 3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons of cold water and mix well. Cover and set aside.
3. Pour the EVOO into a large, heavy frying pan (cast iron is great) and set over medium-high heat. When it is hot, put in themustard seeds. As soon as they begin to pop, add the cumin and fennel seeds. This happens quickly so have everything ready.
4. Stir and quickly add in the mustard paste. Add the green/red chilies, stir and bring to a gentle simmer.
5. Place the fish in the sauce in a single layer. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes or until the fish is cooked through, spooning the sauce over the fish while it cooks.