Exclusive Recipe by Shiva Natarajan (Malai Marke)

Give that fish entrée a simple but delicious flavor with Shiva Natrajan’s Fish Moilee recipe from his restaurant, Malai Marke in the East Village.

FISH MOILEE

Ingredients:

• 1lb boneless white fish chunks - Sea Bass or Tilapia
• 1” cinnamon stick
• 2 green cardamom pods
• 1 tbsp garlic slices 
• 1  tsp ginger juliennes 
• 4  green chilies, slit 
• 1  medium-sized onion, sliced 
• 1  tomato, chopped 
• 1  tsp turmeric powder 
• 1  cup water 
• ½ tsp coarsely crushed black peppercorns 
• 1  tbsp lime juice 
• 2  sprigs curry leaves 
• 2  cups coconut milk 
• 2  tbsp oil 
• Salt to add taste

Directions:

Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan until hot, then fry the cinnamon and cardamoms briefly. Add garlic, ginger, green chilies and onions to the pan. Sautee for approximately 3 minutes or until the onions have turned pink. 

Add the fish and the rest of the ingredients except the coconut milk and mix gently. Cover the mixture and cook on a very low heat for another 10 minutes or until the fish is tender and cooked. 

Maintaining low heat, add the coconut milk (do not use high heat as coconut milk tends to curdle). Mix gently and simmer for a 3-5 minutes  
Serve hot with steamed white basmati rice.