Salmon Curry Indian-Style with Coconut Cream

The very last fillet of salmon, caught by the other adult in Alaska, emphatically insisted on being served as a sublime Indian-style curry full of ambrosial flavor and heady aroma.

Curries, I can make on autopilot. Call it conditioning, call it instinct, call it self-possession... but, it seems rather unlikely to find myself bungling curries. They are the most flexible and tractable of Indian dishes with no single carved-in-stone recipe to befoul, and therefore quite forgiving when I take liberties with the tried-and-tested.

One could simply toss the chopped salmon chunks into the simmering gravy and all will be fine. But, the extra effort that adds a touch of discernible difference is to cook the salmon first on a hot cast iron skillet after gently rubbing with garam masala powder, salt, splashing some fresh lemon juice, and allowing the fish to marinate before searing it on the skillet.

Scoring the skin-on salmon fillet, and marinating as a single large piece rather than cut chunks works best for the skillet-searing, rather than worrying each individual piece to cook uniformly.

Ingredients

A splash of lemon juice and about half a teaspoon of garam masala powder mixed with a pinch of salt for marinating
A 7-inch long skin-on salmon fillet, scored to separate chunks after cooking
Chopped Vegetables: red bell pepper, onions, kale, peas, potatoes
2 Tablespoon Coconut oil
Salt to taste

For the gravy/curry sauce:
14 oz. can coconut cream

dry roast and grind to powder:
2 cardamom pods
2-inch piece of Indian cinnamon bark
2 cloves
1 teaspoon whole green (or black) peppercorns

grind to fine paste:
½ cup tomato purée
2 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon minced garlic
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder (or cayenne pepper)


Preparation

1. Sear the salmon: Heat a cast iron skillet to high heat, add a tablespoon of coconut oil and place the scored and marinated salmon skin side down and allow to crisp a bit; then flip and cook the salmon till mostly done, it will finish cooking in the curry sauce; by now the skin will easily peel off and the chunks can be separated to individual pieces scored earlier
2. Start the curry: heat a tablespoon of coconut oil in a saucepan, add the ground paste and saute till aromatic, then add the finely ground powder of dry roasted spices, stir well till well-incorporated, season with salt to taste
3. Simmer: Add the veggies, salmon, a scoop of water as needed, and simmer for 5 minutes or so, then, stir in the coconut cream, cover, and simmer gently over medium heat till salmon is fully cooked and the curry reduces to a creamy consistency
4. Serve warm with brown or white basmati rice, or even naan/roti