Curried Tilapia Palak

This is an old favorite - tilapia with sautéed spinach (palak) and a yogurt curry sauce infused with aromatic veggies and Indian spice.

Revived from the first posting of my first blog www.cuisineici.blogspot.com ten years ago, it is still a go to way to prepare simple white fish.

Curry sauce:

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

1 Tbsp favorite Curry powder

1 tsp chili powder

2 Tbsp ghee or butter

1 carrot, finely diced

1 shallot, minced

1 jalapeño pepper, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2-inch fresh ginger, minced

2 Tbsp butter

3-4 tilapia fillets, about 1-1/2 lb, enough for 4

5 oz fresh baby spinach leaves

Mix together the yogurt, cornstarch, mustard, curry and chili powders in a small bowl.

Melt the ghee in a small skillet and sauté the carrots for 2-3 minutes. Add the shallots and pepper and sauté another 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook another 2-3 minutes. All the veggies should be softened and the mixture very fragrant.

While the veggies cook, salt and pepper the tilapia to taste. Melt the butter in a large non-stick skillet, and gently brown the fish on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove to a plate, cover and keep warm.

Add the spinach to the same skillet and turn heat to medium high. Wilt the spinach until leaves are soft and glossy.

When ready to eat, stir the yogurt mixture into the veggie mixture and turn heat to the lowest setting. The cornstarch in the yogurt helps to thicken and to keep the yogurt from separating when heated (a common problem with cooking hot with yogurt). Gently stir sauce to thicken and just heat through.

Divide the spinach among four plates and top with tilapia and then yogurt sauce.

Serves 4.

Cook's Note: Here I serve the tinplate with roasted potato gratin, but you might just as well serve with Basmatti rice.

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