Wednesday, 22nd October 2008

Baked Halibut in a Yogurt Sauce

This is a very easy dish to put together, just a matter of mixing all the ingredients together and baking for 30 minutes.  The sauce needs to be reduced at the end of the cooking, but that only takes about 5 minutes.  I suggest that you serve it with a Saag aloo and rice.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1kg of 3cm thick halibut fillet
• 450ml natural yoghurt
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp ground coriander seeds
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 50g unsalted cold butter cut up into small chunks

Method:

Heat the oven to 190C, gas mark 5

Lay the onions on the bottom of a large based baking dish, one that is big enough to lay the fish flat in one layer.  Cut the fish into four equal sized portions and place on the onions.
Mix the Yoghurt with the lemon juice, salt, pepper, garam masala, cumin, coriander, cayenne, ginger and oil, mixing well.  Pour the sauce onto the fish, making sure that some of it goes under as well as over.  Cover with either a lid or foil and bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until the fish is cooked.
Pour off the sauce from the fish into a saucepan and boil to reduce to about 350ml of liquid.  Whisk in the butter, and as soon as it is melted, pour over the fish and serve.