After a good long month of too many baked goods, party food and large meals, I wanted to start the new year off with something a little on the lighter side. When I think of light meals I often start thinking of fish and this time I went straight for this roast halibut in a tomato curry sauce inspired by a recipe in a recent edition of Food & Drink magazine. In this dish the fish, I chose halibut, is coated in a simple “curry powder” consisting of garam masala and turmeric and roasted in the oven. The roasted halibut is then served on a very simple and yet tasty tomato curry sauce.
The garam masala gave the halibut a really nice spicy warmth and a great aroma. With each bite, I combined a piece of the halibut along with the curried tomato sauce and the combination worked really well! I served the halibut and tomato curry with a curried cauliflower rice that was perfect for finishing off any extra tomato curry!
Garam Masala Roasted Halibut in a Tomato Curry Sauce
Moist and tender halibut seasoned with garam masala served in a tasty tomato curry sauce.
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 4 (6 ounce) halibut pieces
- 1 batch tomato curry sauce (see below)
directions
- Mix the oil, garam masala and turmeric.
- Brush the garam masala mixture over the fish and place it in a baking dish and let sit for 20 minutes.
- Roast the halibut in a preheated 450F/230C oven until cooked, about 10-15 minutes. (White juices will appear on the fish when it is cooked.)
- Divide the tomato curry sauce between four plates and place a piece of halibut on top.
Tomato Curry Sauce
A tasty tomato curry sauce that goes great in a lot of dishes.
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
- 2 small green chilies, finely diced
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and ground
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 handful cilantro, chopped
directions
- Heat the oil in a pan.
- Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the garlic, ginger and green chilies and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, cumin, coriander, turmeric, salt and pepper and simmer until the sauce starts to thicken, about 15 minutes.
- Add the garam masala and cilantro and remove from heat.
What an interesting combination of flavors! Your dishes are always so beautifully plated.
Happy New Year!
That fish dish is beautiful! So fragrant and delectable looking.
Cheers,
Rosa
This is definitely lighter fare Kevin and a great way to start a healthier New year!!
I love that recipe. I'm not one for going the extra mile and making a sauce but it just sounds too good to pass up.
Wonderful meal idea!
I'm looking for fish and vegetables. Enough with the rich foods! Will return – curries add warmth without the richness and using garam masala is always welcome. Grand way to start the new year!
Excellent choice! Gotta feel good after a meal like that! Enjoy the year ahead 🙂
mmm this looks really appetizing…and very good for the light meal plan. garam masala addition sounds even better!
I am also ready to return to lighter fare after the holidays. This looks delish!
Kevin, this Halibut recipe looks mouthwatering! Love the garam masala & tomato curry flavors…Yum!
Sorry I haven't visited for a while.
Happy New Year!
Oh yum on that tomato curry sauce, I would love to give it a try. Very intriguing recipe.
Just clicked through to say how good this looked and noticed the BlogHerAds! Very cool, glad to see it.
Happy New Year Kevin-
I am feeling like I have been in a food coma these last few weeks. Your recipe would be wonderful.
Cheers.
Velva
Beautiful. I will make this first chance I get!
Kevin, you are seriously amazing! If only I could afford to bribe you to be my personal chef! Oh well, I'm content to at least know your blog.
This is so wonderful! I L.O.V.E fish and particularly halibut. Garam Masala is a perfect spice and the cauliflower rice is the perfect accompaniment!
I love when Indian spices are used in an unconventional way – looks lovely!
I usually do not think of halibut as sexy, but damn. That dish looks fabulous. I will have to give it a whirl when I get back to the states. 🙂
~cheers
You and me both Kevin. I feel like I need to inhale salads at the moment but this is a pretty good compromise. Looks so satisfyingly delicious!
This looks absolutely delicious, and great to combat all that Christmas excess!!
I think this would work really well with hake or salmon too – I'll be giving it a try.
Thanks for the recipe,
Hunger and Sauce x
Hooray to Indian foods! Looks delish as usual.
Mmm halibut! I've wanted to make that for a while now and now I have an excuse 🙂
That sounds amazing!
I love spicy flavorful foods in the cold winter!
Too funny Kevin. I made the exact same recipe but did it exactly as the LCBO had it. Mediocre results. My post on it.
http://foodiemom-torontobites.blogspot.com/2010/12/new-year-dinner-roasted-halibut-with.html
I was thinking of similar changes as you to the fish. I liked the coconut milk in the LCBO sauce but too much tomato.
Cheers
Sandra
Great flavors Kevin, I love it! I definitely think you picked the right kind of fish to stand up to them.
this sounds like a fantastic way to start off the new year on a healthy note!! anne
Such a lovely dish, Kevin. I love that sauce!
I have been following your blog for quite sometime now and I am amazed at how do you know indian flavors/spices so much.Have you studied or taken a course? Anyways loved the idea of adding GM to halibut..generally when I cook fish..I use mild indian spices so as not to interfere with mild fish taste but your dish looks super yum.gotta try this!
Happy New Year and keep up the good work!
This is so beautiful!!! I can't stop staring. I bet the sauce is amazing. Love those flavors.
I love all those spices on the fish, so flavorfull… The photo and the dish are beautiful
That's going onto my dinner list in the very near future!
You listed oil in your recipe but didn't specify what kind of oil. I was wondering what kind you recommend. I have read all kinds of good things about extra virgin olive oil. What's your take on that for this recipe?
Thanks
Derek
oxnard dentist: I tend to leave the type of oil up to the reader as everyone has their favorite. I tend to use extra virgin olive oil alot and it works well in this recipe.
I used this recipe and it was delicious! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
http://puritajones.wordpress.com/2011/09/11/garam-masala-chicken-with-tomato-cauliflower-curry/
I really liked the tomato curry sauce. Thanks for the recipe!
This sauce sounds incredible, especially with halibut. Beautiful as well!
Loving the cauliflower rice. Fish & rice – my ideal meal. Halibut is king!
Great recipe — note replacing coconut milk with regular milk + 2 Tbsp shredded coconut worked great.
This recipe is still one of my go to recipes of yours when I want to impress people. I like this with swordfish, either baked or grilled.
This recipe calls for 2 small green chilis. What kind of pepper are you using? PLMK. Thank you.
I like to use Thai birds eye chilies or chilies de arbol or serrano chilies. Use a chili that you are familiar with, start with a small amount and add more to get to the desired level of heat.