So Many Dishes

One of my favorite things is learning about and tasting different cuisines. It is one of the best ways to learn about other people and cultures.

I have loved Indian food ever since I first tasted it in 1970, when Ken took me to the Ceylon India Inn in New York for dinner before we saw a performance of Hair. It was a memorable evening from the moment we saw the restaurant’s sign—and the marquee beneath it that said “topless go-go continuous!” (The restaurant was on the second floor, above the club, but there was definitely a moment when I wondered what I was getting into). We had even better Indian food cooked by our friend Rao, a student from India in Ken’s department when we were in graduate school, who taught me some basics of Indian cooking. When we moved to Florida, we discovered great Indian restaurants in Coral Gables, and I took a wonderful cooking class with the woman who ran one of those restaurants. I’ve cooked a lot of Indian meals, and ate some exceptional Indian food in England.

Last night’s Indian roasted salmon can only be described as Indian-inspired. As Ken said, salmon isn’t a fish you’re going to find in India. Also, no recipe purporting to be authentic would include ground ginger. But the flavor definitely brought Indian cuisine to mind.

This is a recipe that’s been on Ken’s radar for a while. A couple of years ago, he went through all our Cooking Light Annual Recipes volumes and made lists of recipes he thought we should try. I’m glad we gave this a whirl.

The dish is incredibly easy. I mixed up the spices, then squeezed lime juice over the salmon fillet and dusted it with the spice mixture. The recipe doesn’t call for the salmon to be skinned, but we always request it when we buy it. My trick to keep the fish moist, which I found in a newspaper interview with the owner of one of Miami’s seafood restaurants, is to add a couple tablespoons of water to the bottom of the baking dish—not on the fish, but around it, and it doesn’t need more than two or three tablespoons. While it was in the oven, I made the simple sauce of plain yogurt and chopped fresh cilantro. What could be easier? As I mixed the yogurt and cilantro, I thought that perhaps I should have made my cucumber raita, but we agreed that probably would have overwhelmed the salmon. Next time, I will make an Indian side, but we had some beautiful, thin asparagus that I steamed and seasoned with Penzey’s lemon pepper seasoning, and accompanied dinner with warm naan. It was a relaxing meal on a cool evening, accompanied by a glass of the Chardonnay from the Italian Piedmont that we love.

Indian-Spiced Roast Salmon

• 4 6-ounce salmon fillets
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 2/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt (I used Greek yogurt)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine salt, ginger, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, and red pepper in a small bowl and set aside.

Place salmon, skin side down, in a shallow pan coated with cooking spray. Brush evenly with lime juice. Sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over the fish.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork (the thickness of the fish will affect the cooking time). While the fish is cooking, combine yogurt and cilantro, and serve with fish. Makes 4 servings.

Happy eating!