Ghalyeh mahi

Ingredients

Fish

• 1 kgfirm fish, in thick pieces
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 teaspoonground turmeric
• 2 teaspoonssalt

Herbs

• 300 gfresh coriander, chopped
• 100 gdried fenugreek leaves
• or 200 g fresh fenugreek leaves
• 4spring onions, chopped

The pot

• 10garlic cloves, crushed
• 2onions, finely chopped
• 5 tablespoonsoil
• 2 teaspoonsground turmeric
• 2 teaspoonschilli powder
• 1 teaspoonground coriander
• 1 teaspoonblack pepper
• 150 gtamarind paste
• or 200 g tamarind block, soaked
• about 500 ml water
• salt to taste

To serve

• plain rice
• or Persian steamed rice
• lime wedges
• flatbread

Directions

1. Break the block up into a bowl. Cover it over with plenty of hot water. Let it soak for twenty minutes. Discard the stones and the fibre. Ready-made paste saves all of that. Cut the fish into thick pieces. Rub them with lime juice, turmeric and salt. Let them sit for twenty minutes. It firms the flesh and takes off any smell. Cut it into large even pieces. Preparing the herbs takes the longest.
2. Wash the coriander in several changes of water. Shake the herbs dry thoroughly. Chop it finely, stems included. Heat half the oil in a wide pan. Add the chopped coriander and spring onion. Fry it over a steady medium heat. Stir it constantly as it cooks. Give it about ten full minutes.
3. Add the dried fenugreek leaves. Fry them for two minutes only. Take the pan off if they darken quickly. Set the fried herbs aside for now. Heat the rest of the oil in a large pot. Add the finely chopped onions to it. Cook them for a good ten minutes.
4. Add the crushed garlic to them. This dish takes a great deal of garlic. Cook it for a good three minutes. Add the turmeric, chilli and ground coriander.
5. Fry them for one full minute more. Add the fried herbs to the pot. Add the tamarind and the water. Season it with salt and black pepper. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Let it cook for about twenty minutes. The stew should be sour, hot and herby.
6. Add more tamarind if it is flat. Add water to it if it is too sharp. Adjust the salt at this point. Lay the fish pieces into the stew. Do not stir the pot after this point. Cover it and simmer very gently. Give the fish about ten minutes. Oil should sit at the surface.
7. Let it stand covered for ten minutes. Serving it is done hot with rice. Spoon it into bowls over plain rice. It keeps two days refrigerated.

Technique

• Bandar means port in Persian, and bandari cooking is that of the southern coast, which traded with India and the Gulf for centuries, so the food is hotter, more sour and far more heavily spiced than northern Iranian cooking.
• The herbs are the body of the dish rather than a garnish, and three hundred grams of coriander is not a mistake; the stew turns almost black-green from them.
• Frying the herbs before they go into the pot deepens their flavour enormously, while raw herbs stirred in taste thin and grassy; the dried fenugreek needs only two minutes, since burnt fenugreek is irredeemably bitter.

Substitutions

• Any firm white fish works in place of Gulf hammour.
• Ready-made tamarind paste saves soaking and sieving a block.

Variations

• Some cooks add fresh fenugreek leaves alongside the dried.
• A version made with prawns is cooked the same way.
• Ghalyeh maygoo is the prawn version of the same stew.

History

Bandari cooking of the Persian Gulf coast, spiced closer to India than to Tehran and eaten with rice.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ghalyeh mahi?

Ghalyeh mahi is a soup & stew from Iran: southern fish stew heavy with tamarind, coriander and fenugreek. Bandari cooking of the Persian Gulf coast, spiced closer to India than to Tehran and eaten with rice.

How long does Ghalyeh mahi take to make?

Ghalyeh mahi takes 35 minutes of preparation and 50 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Ghalyeh mahi?

Yes, within limits. Any firm white fish works in place of Gulf hammour. Ready-made tamarind paste saves soaking and sieving a block.

What is the most important thing to get right in Ghalyeh mahi?

Add more tamarind if it is flat. Add water to it if it is too sharp. Adjust the salt at this point. Lay the fish pieces into the stew. Do not stir the pot after this point. Cover it and simmer very gently. Give the fish about ten minutes. Oil should sit at the surface.