Pan Fried Masala Salmon

Day6 of BM#10: I love Salmon not just for its Omega-3 Fatty acids but also because it is so flavorful. Doesn't need much in the way of seasoning, isn't it?? All I have to do is just pan fry with little salt and pepper and its heavenly. But once in a while I like going overboard with the Masala. This is one such attempt! Don't be frightened by the color. Its the Kasmiri Chili powder that imparted such a color to the fish. I have used both the regular and kashmiri chili powder.

One can totally skip the K.Powder if it hurts the eye.

Way6 To Maintain A Healthy Level of Insanity: When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won! I Won!" LoL, LoL

Ingredients:

• 3-4 Palm-sized Salmon Fillets
• 1/2 Small Red Onion
• 1/2 Small Tomato
• 2 Tbsp thick Tamarind pulp (Yea, get the crap out of that Tamarind. Squeeze it dry!)
• 1-1/2 Tbsp Kashmiri Chili Powder (very mild, I opted this mostly for the color it would impart)
• 1 Tsp or less/more Pure Chili Powder
• 1 Tsp Cornstarch
• Salt for taste
• Olive Oil for pan-frying the Salmon

Procedure:

• Thaw the frozen salmon in cold water for 10-15 minutes.

• Cut the onion and tomato into chunks.Puree it in the blender.Don't add water. The thicker the paste the better chance it has to adhere to the fish.

• Add the pureed mixture and the tamarind pulp to a shallow bowl.

• Add the chili powder, kashmiri chili powder and salt.

• Lastly add a tsp of cornstarch.Sprinkle salt and check for taste. The marinade should be "spicy hot"! But the salmon doesn't absorb all the heat. The cooked fillets have a milder taste.

• Clean the salmon fillets and pat it dry.

• Cut it into smaller rectangles/squares.

• Add them to bowl and coat the pieces with the masala.

• Cling wrap the bowl and Freeze, NOT refrigerate the pieces for 15-20 minutes.

• Add little Oil to a wide shallow saute pan and shallow fry the pieces 3 minutes per side until you see brown spots on the top. Partly raw masala coating doesn't taste good! Do this in batches and don't crowd the pan. This will delay the frying/crisping time

• Transfer to a plate.Repeat the above step for the remaining batch.

• Serve it hot by itself or with Rice and South-Indian Sambhar.

Old is Gold: Most of you may not remember this Salmon Cakes With Spinach and Craisins. I love to eat them that way too.
Enjoy!