Fish on a Budget

Okay so I allow myself to take only $20 [i.e. £13] to the market when I go - mainly because I just cannot carry any more back with me and it stops me going nuts with all the fresh produce. I have learnt my lesson from past experience where I blew my weeks budget in one visit and nearly died trying to carry everything back by myself as I don't have a car or a granny push-cart [yet!].

So this is what I got from Queen Vic Market for my $20...

My loot from Vic Market for $20 - pretty healthy and just screams yummy!

Ingredients:
Whole Fish - called Trevally [tastes very meaty and oily like Mackerel]:£5.40 cleaned and gutted [£3.53]!
2 Red Peppers
2 Courgettes
1 large aubergine
Vine ripe Tomatoes
Chinese Broccoli
Cucumber
Lemon
Slices of turkey pastrami

Well I managed to extract 3 meals out of these fresh ingredients [bear in mind I have store cupboard essentials like oil, garlic, onions etc.]. We had tomato, cucumber and turkey sandwishes and salad [no carbs for me!] for lunch. Then I managed to get 6 - 8 thick steaks from the fish for dinner...

With the neck and tail end being the cooks cuts, the fish gave 6 meaty steaks to fight over!

I made Bengoli Fried Fish and served it with Chinese Broccoli Bhaji and Basmati rice. I also used the rest of the veg to make a Ratatouille for lunch the next day [it tastes better if it is made a day in advance!]. So here are my recipes and I hope you get a chance to make them. You can make Bengoli Fried Fish with any meaty fish - in London I used to make this with Mackerel. Chinese Broccoli is very much like Choi Sum or you can substitute it with any greens you like!

BENGOLI FRIED FISH

Ingredients:

Fish steaks

Chilli powder

Tumeric powder

Salt

Black Pepper

Tablespoon of olive / rape seed [canola] oil

1 large onion finely sliced

2 cloves of garlic finely sliced

1 large tomato cut into wedges/ chunks
1 teaspoon of mustard oil [optional]

Lightly dust tumeric and chilli over steaks along with salt and pepper - almost like a light crust

1. Sprinkle generous amounts of tumeric and chilli powder over the fish steaks along with salt and pepper almost like a crust - don't worry once they are fried the heat will die down
2. Allow to infuse while you prepare the other ingredients: Finely slice the onions and garlic, chop up the tomato into wedges
3. Put the fish in a deep frying pan and on the highest heat - drizzle over 1 tablespoon of oil
4. Fry each side for 2 minutes - then set the fish aside [it will only be half cooked]
5. In the same pan, place the onions and allow them to take on all the colour from the pan
6. Add the garlic and cook for another minute
7. Add the tomatoes and then quickly add the fish back on top of the onion mixture
8.Add a dash of water and allow everything to sizzle.
9. Turn off the heat and cover the fish with a lid and set aside. The residual heat and the steam will finish cooking the fish and it will not be over done.
10. Garnish with lemon juice, a teaspoon of mustard oil and corriander/parsley leaves before you serve it with rice.*

*Bengoli people use Mustard oil like Oriental people use sesame oil - it is just for flavour - not for cooking. It is very strong - so must be used sparingly; On its own it's too pungent. It turns a dish from being good to sublime. They use it at the end of a dish as an additional flavour or in salads or mash.

Par cooked fish set aside after frying 2 minutes on each side

Fish added back to pan with lightly fried onions, garlic and tomato then garnished with parsley

Final dish plated up

I served a bhaji with the fish [which means a stir fry in Bengoli] and I used the greens I had i.e. the chinese veg

This is a simple stir fry. Just fry some sliced onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon of oil. Add a pinch of crushed red chilli and a pinch of cumin seeds. Then chuck in your washed, drained and chopped green veg. Stir fry on a high heat for 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Switch off the heat and leave to cool without a lid while you get your plates ready. This is a 5 minute dish and everything should be vibrant and crispy [not soggy and overdone].

I always serve Basmati rice not just because it is my husbands favourite and has divine flavour but also because they say that it has the lowest glyceamic index of all white rice i.e it takes longer to digest, keeps you fuller for longer and slowly releases its sugars.

Nutritional aspects: Frying is NOT the healthiest option. However by only using 1 tablespoon of healthy oil you are keeping things guilt free and the fish is pretty much finished off in steaming. Fish, rice and green veg - you cannot get healthier than that. Nutrition oozes out of a meal this fresh and easily prepared. Oily fish giving lean protein and good omega3s are the essence of healthy eating. Green veg wth vitamins and fibre. Plain boiled rice with gluten free carbs and  a low glycaemic index - well this meal ticks all my boxes!