Recipe & images Dr Verena, Krystle Manning
Tamarind is the fruit pod of a tree native to Asia and Africa and is used around the world for its medicinal properties and delicious sour-sweet flavour. Found to relieve constipation, encourage weight loss and combat bacteria and viruses, tamarind is also high in magnesium to reduce inflammation and support heart health. Enjoy this nourishing fish curry with cauliflower rice, quinoa or brown rice, some steamed green beans, leafy greens and garnish with fresh coriander.
Serves 4
Ingredients
800g of wild caught white fish fillet, such as monkfish, rockling or ling
Marinade
Juice of one lime
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon black pepper, ground
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Paste
1 red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, diced
1 tablespoon pine nuts
2 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil, for frying
Sauce
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon dried red chilli flakes
1 heaped teaspoon tamarind paste
½ cup tomatoes, chopped
¼ cup water
Fresh coriander, to serve
Method
1. Rinse the fish fillets then pat dry with paper towel.
2. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Evenly coat the fish fillets, cover with cling wrap or beeswax wrap and put in the fridge for 1 hour to marinate.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C
4. Combine the paste ingredients in a food processor except for the ghee or coconut oil used for frying, and blend until smooth.
5. Heat the ghee or coconut oil in a frying pan over low-medium heat. Spoon in the paste and cook for 2 minutes, then add the turmeric, coriander, cumin, salt and chilli powder and stir well. Add the tamarind paste, chopped tomatoes and water, stir and cook for 5 minutes.
6. Remove the fish fillets and place into the pan, discarding the excess marinade. Cover the pan with its lid and transfer to the oven to bake for 30 minutes or until the fish is cooked through and flakes.
7. Garnish with fresh coriander, and serve partnered with sides of cauliflower rice, quinoa or brown rice, green beans and leafy greens.
Low FODMAP version
Use ⅔ cup of the green tops of spring onions and use 3cm of fresh ginger, peeled and grated instead of the red onion and garlic.
This recipe is taken from Dr Verena’s Kitchen, which will be available for purchase in June/July from doctorverena.com