Tuesday, December 31, 2013

538. Iraqi Herbed Fish Stew


This heavily-spiced and rich fish stew hails from the southern provinces of Iraq.

The south of Iraq has ready access to both river and sea fish, and hence fish stews are more common than in central or northern Iraq.
The stew is very rich and is concocted of a medley of herbs, vegetables, and spices, before lightly fried fish is added.
Although I used fish fillets here, it is more traditional to use fish steaks, which still have bones and skin intact.
I chose to lightly pan-fry the fish before adding it to the stew, but you can skip this step and add it directly to the stew and have a more poached effect.
Serve, as always, with rice on the side.


Ingredients:

4 white fish filets (about 600-800g)
5-6 cloves of garlic (chopped or crushed)
2 or 3 dried limes (loomi)
1 large green chilli, chopped
2 onions, chopped
1 cup chopped dill, chopped
1 cup chopped coriander, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
3 Tbsp tomato paste
2 1/2 cups hot water
3-4 Tbsp oil

Spice Mix:
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp turmeric
11/2 tsp salt


Method:

Mix all the spices together in a small bowl, set aside.
Saute the onion an about a tablespoon of oil until transparent.
Add the garlic, saute for a minute then add two teaspoons of the spice mix.
Saute for an additional minute then add the loomi, green chili, dill, coriander, and tomatoes.
Saute for about 5 minutes, then add the tomato paste and hot water.
Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer about 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the fish fillets into roughly the size of a cigarette packet, and rub with the remaining spice mix.
Fry the fish in a couple of tablespoons of oil until golden on both sides.
Carefully add the fish to the vegetable stew, and let simmer for 20 more minutes.
Serve with rice on the side.


صحة و عافية

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Assalama Alaikoum Maryam, this looks like a wonderful and delicious recipe. I cannot wait to try it along with some of your other recent posts. Iraqi food has always been a favourite of mine. Looking forward to more fish and Iraqi dishes from you soon inshallah. Best wishes for the new year. Khadija

Maryam said...

Wa Alaikum Alsalam!
Thanks so much Khadija, that's great to hear!
Wishing you blessings and prosperity always.

Anonymous said...

Happy and Blessed New Years........loving this recipe..so many rich and aromatic layers of flavors....Nadia

Anonymous said...

Happy and Blessed New Year!..loving this recipe..so many aromatic layers of flavors..Nadia

Maryam said...

May all your years be filled with blessings, Nadia.
I hope you try it, and let me know how you like it.

Anonymous said...

Marhaba Maryam...wow! absolutely exquisite!!!!! complex. rich..warming..tangy,, i could go on..,just made this for dinner..again the noomi is sublime here. used the fllliets as well..bet with the steaks..skin and bones its even better( if thats possible).thank you again ..Nadia

Anonymous said...

ps one thing i did differently was after searing the fish, which were fairly thin fillets, i put them in sauce and only simmered them like 7 minutes to 10 minutes to cook through..

Maryam said...

Oh that's fantastic! I'm so glad you liked it, and thank you for letting me know :)

Maryam said...

That is very astute of you, well done. I found that the stew still needed some cooking after adding the fillets in 10 minutes, so I added another 10.

Anonymous said...

Can't wait to try this, yum!

Anonymous said...

This was incredible wow! Is it possible to use dried dill? I love your blog.
Thanks for sharing. Cheers

Maryam said...

You're welcome!
Yes, dried dill can even be found in supermarkets in bags or jars. If you have a surplus of fresh dill it's also a good idea to chop and freeze.

Anonymous said...

How much dried dill should we use please, the same amount as the fresh? thank you

Maryam said...

About a quarter cup of dried dill will replace the cup of fresh dill. Good luck!

Faisal said...

God bless you and your family Maryam your website is amazing and i will be trying this fish tomorrow

Maryam said...

Thank you Faisal! Allah bless you and your family too. I hope the recipe will be successful with you and thoroughly enjoyed.