Persian Cod With Herbs and Tamarind
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 servings
- ¾cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
- 1quart chopped parsley leaves and tender stems (from 2 to 3 bunches)
- 1quart chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems (from 2 to 3 bunches)
- 1½cups chopped scallions (the whites and greens)
- 1cup chopped fresh fenugreek leaves or mint leaves
- ⅓cup dried fenugreek or mint
- 1teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1medium onion, finely diced
- 5large garlic cloves, chopped
- 2tablespoons ground turmeric
- 2teaspoons red-pepper flakes, or to taste
- ¼ to ⅓cup tamarind paste, to taste (see note)
- 3tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2½teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
- Sugar, as needed
- 6thick fillets of cod (6 to 8 ounces each), or other meaty white fish such as halibut or striped bass, patted dry
- Cooked basmati rice, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
557 calories; 32 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 21 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 35 grams protein; 847 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
In a 12-inch skillet (choose one with a lid), heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Stir in parsley, cilantro, scallions and fresh fenugreek or mint and cook until they start to stick to the bottom, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in dry fenugreek or mint, and black pepper, and sauté 1 to 2 more minutes, until starting to brown. Turn off heat and cover pan so that the steam releases any darker pieces that may have stuck to the bottom, about 5 minutes.
- Step 2
While herbs cook, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until dark golden brown, about 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and sauté for 2 minutes longer, then stir in turmeric and drizzle with a little more oil (this prevents the turmeric from burning); cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add red-pepper flakes and stir well. Stir in 2½ cups water and bring to a simmer, scraping up browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 1 minute. Pour onion mixture into skillet with herb mixture.
- Step 3
Return the heat under the skillet of herbs to medium and stir in tamarind paste, lemon juice and 2½ teaspoons salt. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding sugar, more tamarind or both if necessary. You are looking for a balance of sweet and tart.
- Step 4
Drizzle herbs with 6 tablespoons oil, bring to a simmer, cover and continue to simmer very gently over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the oil separates and floats on top, about 1 hour. Taste again and adjust seasoning using more salt, sugar, tamarind or a combination.
- Step 5
Wipe out the 10-inch skillet and heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Season fish with salt and pepper to taste, then place skin-side down (if there’s skin) and cook until browned and crispy, 4 to 5 minutes. Do this in batches if necessary.
- Step 6
Use a spatula to transfer fish to the herb sauce, nestling it in so the crisp, browned side is facing up. Continue to simmer sauce and fish together until fish is flaky and cooked through, another 4 to 5 minutes.
- Step 7
Transfer the fish and sauce to serving plates, drizzle everything generously with oil, and serve with basmati rice on the side.
Tip
- Different brands of tamarind paste have different levels of sweetness and acidity, so you’ll need to adjust the flavors as you go; taste often and feel free to add a bit more tamarind or sugar to balance things out.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
H. C. Ricks
Yet another recipe that includes absurd directions for caramelizing onions. Seven minutes is not nearly enough time. Twenty minutes might do it, although it could take longer.
Lynda
Ghalieh mahi is a dish from the south of Iran on the Persian Gulf. Many Persians have never heard of it, much less eaten it. It's one of our favorite dishes to prepare for guests because it is so unique. Fenugreek is a must! Fresh fenugreek is probably not available everywhere, but don't worry, dried fenugreek is preferable. We often use salmon as it is so readily available where we live.
zitronencurry
It's one of my pet peeves, too. But there's a shortcut: Zap the sliced onions in the microwave for a minute or so before putting them in the pan. That shortens the cooking time considerately.
Eric
Yields an impressive, restaurant quality dish with unique flavors. There are major drawbacks, so please be warned: - Finding fresh fenugreek will test your local food resources, as well as your patience.* - Creates a lot of dirty dishes - Leaves your house smelling like aforementioned restaurant *If you use mint, as we did - plus ground fenugreek seed - finding the ingredients is not a problem in any city with a Whole Foods. Finding the real thing will send you on a fenu-Greek odyssey.
Jack Donnelly
Iranian dishes usually use flat (Italian).
S
Fresh fenugreek leaves (methi) and dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi) are found in just about all Indian stores. Indian stores have proliferated in most urban areas of the US. Hope people are able to find it quite easily!
Lindsay
As I was serving only 4 people, I ended up with about a cup or more of extra herb sauce. The next day I threw the leftover sauce into my Instant Pot with some chicken thighs and mushrooms. A quick and tasty 2nd dinner! This was a time-consuming recipe, but ending up with 2 different and delicious meals made it worth the effort.
Kurt D Gress
FYI- the cod is left out of the ingredients. It sounds delicious. We made Persian food for Eastover last year and the amount of fresh herbs we used was incredible but so was the flavor of the food. I look forward to making this dish.
stephanie
although i agree that too often recipes used "caramelized" when they really mean "browned", in this case it seems accurate. the first onion step states "Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until dark golden brown, about 7 minutes." 7mins is enough time to get browned onions. then, later in the recipe you cook the whole mess for another hour, plenty of time for the onions to further break down and get sweet and caramelized, as mentioned in the headnotes.
Soroor
Here is what Iranians, e.g my Mom, did to make fried onions. You slice the onions very thin and cook them on low heat for a long time until they turn deep red/brown, not black. They become crunchy and delicious. This process takes around 30 minutes.
heather
A decent Indian market w/a vegetable section may have fresh fenugreek and definitely will carry dried fenugreek, also known as methi.
Fiona Watt
So true. I always find it wierd they so vastly misrepresent caramelization times. Maybe they think it will scare off novices, but it just leads to eye rolling here.
Yummy
Ya, that's always been my experience. Maybe they don't really mean carmelized. Maybe they mean browned with some darker crispy pieces.
Bob
Fenugreek leaves are sold fresh in many Indian and Asian Grocery’s and often are labeled as Methi Leaves.
Sophie
This is yummy, but I messed up and used tamarind concentrate instead of tamarind paste - I thought they were the same thing, they aren’t. I ended up having to add a lot of sugar - still yummy. Don’t make the same mistake I did - I think 1 part concentrate 2 parts water equals tamarind paste.
Lynne
This has become a go-to recipe for week night happiness. We like it with coconut brown basmati rice and a veg du jour. Works great with frozen/thawed/cooked fish like cod and halibut (we live far from the ocean). Dried fenugreek is easily available online.
Brian
Love it--but it took me a lot longer than 1.5 hours. I think that's just the cooking time, but there's a lot of prep too. Leftovers: We made fish for just two people, so we had a lot of leftover sauce that we used to good effect. The best one was spreading the sauce on the crust of a savory tart with wild mushrooms and whatever green vegetables we had around--asparagus, fava tops, etc.
Shawn M
Delicious recipe, but the sauce takes a lot longer than the recipe calls for. To caramelize the onions and brown the herbs took me at least one hour. With the effort though, especially with fresh grown summer herbs and local cod!
Lynne
I did this first with cod but frankly it is even better with a firmer fish like Mahi. Dogfish would work well, too. Truly delicious. We serve it with coconut basmati rice.
Lindsay
As I was serving only 4 people, I ended up with about a cup or more of extra herb sauce. The next day I threw the leftover sauce into my Instant Pot with some chicken thighs and mushrooms. A quick and tasty 2nd dinner! This was a time-consuming recipe, but ending up with 2 different and delicious meals made it worth the effort.
Joe
I don't know if you could carmelize onions in such a short time, even on a high-BTU commercial stove top.
Soroor
Here is what Iranians, e.g my Mom, did to make fried onions. You slice the onions very thin and cook them on low heat for a long time until they turn deep red/brown, not black. They become crunchy and delicious. This process takes around 30 minutes.
CS Mudge
This is really good! It’s a lot though - made it for the two of us with scallops (they were very fresh, the cod and halibut were not), so lots of sauce left over. Will freeze it and see how it holds. Anyone have experience with that? BTW, I used half of the Chile flakes and it was still hot!
Colleen
Could a useful measure for the herbs be provided, e.g., weight? Or at least packed or loose. I have no idea what 1 qt means. To me it does not sound like the onions are being caramelized. They are being cooked to just short of burnt, which is completely different from caramelized. It can be done in 7 minutes. I recall an Indian friend trying to teach me to let onions burn to make dal and rice. It was completely unintuitive, but delicious once I let myself do it.
the mad hungarian
Complex, strong flavors. Delicious and memorable. I made it with mint this time, but will seek out some fenugreek next time if only to taste the difference. I have a friend from Iran: onions should be browned, not caramelized. (I have found it's usually best, at least for the 1st time one follows a recipe, to actually follow it rather than assume the recipe writer/cook is not being precise in their instructions. After that, play with the recipe to your heart's desire, if you wish to.)
Eric
Yields an impressive, restaurant quality dish with unique flavors. There are major drawbacks, so please be warned: - Finding fresh fenugreek will test your local food resources, as well as your patience.* - Creates a lot of dirty dishes - Leaves your house smelling like aforementioned restaurant *If you use mint, as we did - plus ground fenugreek seed - finding the ingredients is not a problem in any city with a Whole Foods. Finding the real thing will send you on a fenu-Greek odyssey.
heather
A decent Indian market w/a vegetable section may have fresh fenugreek and definitely will carry dried fenugreek, also known as methi.
Susan Westerman
The recipe as printed in the newspaper is missing the last 6 ingredients.
Erica
question: what is anyones take on using this as a sauce for tofu - or harder veggies (potatoes/carrots/other ideas)? Is a blander fish the only way the herb mix will shine?
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