What helps the grilling enormously is a hinged, double-racked holder. If you cannot find one, just oil your grill rack well and lay your fish directly on it. From “Madhur Jaffrey’s Quick Easy Indian Cooking,” serves 2-3.
Ingredients
1 1/4 pound whole fish, such as trout, salmon trout or small salmon
1/2 plus 1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup peeled and coarsely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
1-inch piece fresh ginger
1 fresh, hot green chile, sliced (do not remove seeds)
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon store-bought garam masala
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 cup canned coconut milk, well stirred
Vegetable oil for grilling
Directions
Wash the fish well and pat dry. Cut 3 or 4 deep, diagonal slits across both sides of fish. Rub with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Set aside as you make marinade.
Combine remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice, salt, onion, garlic, ginger, green chile, turmeric, garam masala and cayenne in an electric blender and blend until smooth. Empty paste into a shallow dish large enough to hold fish. Add coconut milk and mix. Now put fish into dish and rub with marinade. Leave for 5-10 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat grill and oil grilling rack with vegetable oil. The rack should be placed about 6 inches from heat source.
Lift fish out of marinade and place it in (or on) rack. Grill for about 25 minutes, turning fish every 5 minutes and basting frequently with marinade. If you do not have a hinged rack, turn only once, midway through cooking, using the flat side of a large chef’s knife. If fish is browning too fast, distance it from the source of the heat. To allow a crust to form over fish, do not baste toward the end.
Wine ideas: The floral, spicy flavors of gewürztraminer would be delicious with this dish—especially if the wine had a little bit of sweetness to counter the heat in the spices. Good gewürz tends to be pricey; a more affordable option would be a moscofilero from Greece, which is similarly floral and spicy, and lightweight. Boutari or Spiropoulos make good versions for about $15.Tara Q. Thomas
