FISH TIKKA

Tikka consists of boneless pieces of meat or vegetarian alternatives such as paneer, which are marinated in spices and yogurt and subsequently strung through a skewer to be cooked. It is generally cooked in a tandoor and served dry.

Chicken tikka masala is a dish consisting of roasted marinated chopped chicken (chicken tikka) in a spiced sauce (masala). The sauce is usually creamy and orange-coloured.

Ali Ahmed Aslam is said to have invented chicken tikka masala at his Glasgow restaurant in the 1970s.

One of the most common dishes at seafood restaurants across Mumbai will always include Tandoori Pomfret. Pomfret was the preferred choice fish when I grew in the city. A flat fish, delicate and flaky which takes to the marinade and charred smokey tandoor flavours  really well.

Buying pomfret was always a luxury (for us at least!) not just was it expensive but the prized centre piece at dinner parties when used in curries and pan fried with masala. And knowing my mother nothing was ever done by halves so a fish curry would have two full sized pomfrets cut into steaks with some pieces left for frying up to go with fish curry rice. I savoured it, every bite eaten of the curry rice with a portion of masala fried fish was what made that trip to the fish markets followed by cleaning and cooking the fish so worth it.

It took me a long time to adjust and understand local fish in the UK to match what I was used to eating and cooking in India. Thanks to my curious mind and fantastic local fish mongers it’s been easy to adapt but more than that opened my eyes to an array of seafood that is available in abundance in our seas in the west alongside whats seasonal and how it can be used in Indian cooking. I honestly don’t think people eat enough fish/ prawns or seafood. It’s so quick to cook and in my opinion perfect in Indian dishes/ curries soaking in all the gorgeous flavours from the spices. I have written about so many fish and prawn curries here which are lightly, aromatic and ideal for summer months alongside kebabs and tikkas. The marinade below is similar to the used for Tandoori pomfrets. I have used monkfish which is a firm white fish which is moist and ideal as it holds its shape when used in Indian gravy dishes as well as tikkas.

It consists of mouth-watering fish fillets marinated with hot spices and yoghurt (dahi), followed by grilling in an oven.