Monkfish tikka masala with roti
Monkfish partners up magnificently with this punchy sauce. Served on a homemade roti, this recipe is a winner.
Ingredients
For the monkfish
- 3-4 cardamom pods
- 1 mace flower
- 30g/1oz cashew nuts
- 30g/1oz ground almonds
- 5cm/2in piece root ginger
- 3-4 garlic cloves
- 150g/5oz Greek-style yoghurt
- 150ml/5fl oz double cream
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 300g/11oz monkfish, trimmed and cut into 2.5cm/1in pieces
For the sauce
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 5cm/2in piece root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 200ml/7fl oz double cream
For the bread
- 300g/11oz plain flour
- 150ml/5fl oz water
Method
For the monkfish, break the cardamom pods and the mace flower. Place them into a heavy-based frying pan and dry-fry over a low heat for 2-3 minutes.
Place the cardamom, mace and the remaining ingredients, except the monkfish, into a food processor and blend until smooth.
Place the monkfish into bowl and pour over the marinade. Cover with clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 6-8 hours, or overnight.
For the roti, place the flour into a bowl and gradually add the water, beating well to form a firm dough. Tip the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for a couple of minutes until smooth. Cover the dough with clingfilm and set aside to rest for two hours.
Tear off walnut-sized pieces of dough and roll them out thinly to a diameter of 12.5cm/5in.
Heat a frying pan until very hot and fry the dough for 1-2 minutes on each side (or until bubbles appear on the surface).
Remove the roti from the pan with a pair of tongs and carefully hold it over a gas flame until puffed up. Repeat with the remaining dough.
For the sauce, heat a wok until hot, add the oil, garlic, ginger and chilli and fry for 1-2 minutes until just coloured.
Add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes stir in the tomatoes and cook for 4-5 minutes until softened. Add the cream and return to a simmer.
Heat a griddle pan until very hot, add the monkfish and griddle on each side for one minute until just cooked through. Then add the monkfish to the sauce and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Finally, stir in the coriander.
Place the roti onto the plate then spoon over the monkfish and sauce.