Mackerel steaks in tomato onion sauce
My dad's recipe
Clean 8 mackerel steaks and make cuts on the sides of the pieces that are thick. Mix 2 tsp chilli powder + 1 tsp turmeric powder + salt + few drops of water to make a thick paste. Coat the exposed meat of the mackeral with the paste and also push some down the cuts in the fish pieces (pic here). Keep aside.
Grind to a fine paste 2 medium onions + 3 cloves garlic by adding some water. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a fry pan. Add 1 tsp mustard seeds + 1 sprig curry leaves + 1" finely chopped ginger fry for 10 seconds. Add the onion paste and fry for 15-20 minutes stirring occassionally until the paste is dry. Add 1 tsp cumin powder + 1tsp garam masala + 1 tbsp corriander powder + 1 tsp chilli powder and mix well. Add 2 chopped tomatoes + 3 chopped green chillies and fry for 15 minutes while stirring until the sauce is well blended. Remove from heat and keep aside.
Add sufficient sunflower oil to a thick bottomed fry pan to fry the fish. Depth of oil should ne ~1cm. Wait until the oil is slightly smoking. Add the fish pieces and fry on both sides until done and crisp on the outside (pic here)
Place the sauce back on the heat and add 1 cup of water. When the sauce starts to boil, add salt + 1 tbsp kasturi methi (dry fenugreek leaves) + a few squirts of tomato ketchup.. Boil for 5 min while stirring.
Add the fried fish to the sauce and serve with boiled rice.