Paplou

Ingredients

The fish

• 600 gfirm white fish
• kingfish, hamour or similar
• in thick steaks
• salt

The broth

• 3dried limes
• loomi, pierced
• 1 tablespoontamarind paste
• 2onions, chopped
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 3cm ginger, grated
• 3tomatoes, chopped
• 1.2 litreswater
• 3 tablespoonsoil

The spices

• 1 teaspoonground turmeric
• 1 teaspoonground cumin
• 1 teaspoonground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoonchilli powder
• salt and black pepper

To serve

• plain white rice
• chopped coriander
• lime wedges

Directions

1. Pierce each one two or three times. Take them out before that happens. Add them along with the broth. Fish them out after about thirty minutes. Cut the fish into thick steaks. Season the fish well with salt. Thick pieces hold together far better. Cut them about three centimetres thick. Set the salted fish to one side.
2. Salt firms the surface of the flesh. That helps it to hold together. Pierce each dried lime with a knife. Make two or three holes in each. Heat the oil in a large deep pot. Add all the chopped onions to it. Cook them for a good eight minutes. The onions should soften right down.
3. Add the garlic and grated ginger. Cook them for a good two minutes. Two minutes is quite enough for it. Add it after the onion has softened. Add the turmeric, cumin and coriander. Add the chilli powder to them.
4. Cook them for one full minute. One minute is enough for them. Take real care with the turmeric. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot. Cook them down for about six minutes. The tomato should soften and break down. Cook it until it goes quite jammy. Add all of the water to the pot. Add all the pierced dried limes.
5. Add the tamarind paste in to it. Start with less and taste later. Add more of it if it needs it. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Let it cook for about twenty-five minutes. Twenty-five minutes usually does it.
6. Take them out once they have given their flavour. Squeeze them against the side first. Press them gently against the pot side. Do not press them hard at all. Taste the broth and adjust it. Add salt and plenty of black pepper. It should be quite clearly sour. Adjust the salt and sourness together. Use a slotted spoon or your hands. Cooking the fish takes minutes.
7. Let it simmer for about six minutes. Six minutes suits a thick steak. Check it rather than timing it blindly. Judging it takes a fork check. Take it off as soon as it flakes. It carries on cooking in the hot broth. Shake the pot gently instead if needed. Leave it well alone as it cooks. Serving it is always done hot.
8. Ladle the hot broth into bowls. Lift the fish in very carefully. Scatter chopped coriander over it. Serve plain white rice alongside. Serve lime wedges for squeezing. The broth keeps two days refrigerated. Cook fresh fish in reheated broth.

Technique

• The dried limes are pierced two or three times so liquid can get inside — unpierced ones simply float and give almost no flavour — and then fished out after about twenty-five minutes. The seeds and pith turn bitter with long cooking and that bitterness affects the whole pot, so squeeze them gently against the pot side to release the last of the flavour and lift them out rather than leaving them in to serve. The atlas carries the ingredient itself as noomi basra.
• Both dried lime and tamarind go in because they give different kinds of sourness — lime sharp and slightly musty, tamarind deeper and fruitier — and the two together give a depth neither has alone. Tamarind paste varies a great deal in strength, so start with less and taste.
• The broth is built and cooked first and the fish added only at the end for about six minutes: fish cooks very quickly and long cooking breaks it apart and dries it out. Lower the steaks in gently rather than dropping them, and do not stir once they are in — shake the pot gently instead.

Substitutions

• Any firm white fish in thick steaks works, since it must hold together in the broth where soft fish falls apart; kingfish and hamour are the local choices.
• Salt the fish and set it aside fifteen minutes before cooking, which firms the surface and helps it hold together.

Variations

• Fresh fish has clear bright eyes, red rather than brown gills and firm flesh, and smells clean; cloudy sunken eyes, brown gills or a sour smell mean discarding it.
• This is a light thin broth rather than a stew and is not thickened at all — the tomato gives body without thickening it.
• Reheat the broth and cook fresh fish in it rather than reheating the fish, which falls apart entirely.

History

Light fish broth soured with dried lime and tamarind, eaten with rice on the coast.

Frequently asked questions

What is Paplou?

Paplou is a soup & stew from Oman: light fish soup with dried lime and turmeric; coastal favorite. Light fish broth soured with dried lime and tamarind, eaten with rice on the coast.

How long does Paplou take to make?

Paplou takes 20 minutes of preparation and 35 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Paplou?

Yes, within limits. Any firm white fish in thick steaks works, since it must hold together in the broth where soft fish falls apart; kingfish and hamour are the local choices. Salt the fish and set it aside fifteen minutes before cooking, which firms the surface and helps it hold together.

What is the most important thing to get right in Paplou?

Take them out once they have given their flavour. Squeeze them against the side first. Press them gently against the pot side. Do not press them hard at all. Taste the broth and adjust it. Add salt and plenty of black pepper. It should be quite clearly sour. Adjust the salt and sourness together. Use a slotted spoon or your hands. Cooking the fish takes minutes.