Easy Tandoori Salmon
Description
Craving Tandoori Salmon but can't get to a restaurant? This recipe can be used for salmon or trout (preferably with skin-on). It can be panfried or oven roasted.
The traditional version of this recipe would involve making a yogurt based marinade (with spices rich in saffron) and then roasting in a hot clay oven (the Tandoor).
This version allows for a faster prep time and easier cooking without losing the flavor. A longer marinade would be necessary for meat but isn't really needed for fish.
This recipe depends on a spice blend from Penzey's called "Tandoori Seasoning". This and other spices can be found on the penzeys.com website.
Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare the fish
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Salt the Fish
Salt the fish to taste. The tandoori seasoning does not include salt, so salt the top and bottom of the fish (or all sides, as you prefer).
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Dry Rub the Tandoori Seasoning into the Fish
Shake about 1/2 tsp of Penzey's Tandoori Seasoning onto each filet.
Pat it into the top of the fish only.
Add the yogurt
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Spoon the Yogurt onto Each Filet
Once the fish has the dry rub, you can turn it into a yogurt based marinade right on the fish. Magic!
Spoon about 1 Tbsp yogurt onto each filet.
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Turn the Dry Rub into a Marinade
Using your hands (with gloves if you prefer to not touch the raw fish), massage the yogurt into the dry spices, smearing it all over the top sides of the fish.
Rub the mixture until it turns an even color and the fish is evenly coated. At this stage you can put the mixture on the sides of the filet but leave the bottom of the fish plain.
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Let Rest for 10 Minutes
Your fish should look similar to this when the spices and yogurt are mixed together.
Let the spices soak in for 10 minutes, if you have time.
Cook the fish
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If Roasting the Fish
- Preheat the oven to 450 °F.
- Lightly coat a cast iron skillet or roasting pan with some olive oil.
- Place the fish skin side down, or the side with no spices down.
- Optional: put a small pat of ghee or butter on the top of each filet.
- Roast for 6-10 minutes, depending on your oven and the way you like your fish. We do 7 minutes.
- Optional: if you are fancy, after removing from the oven, use a kitchen blowtorch to burn the top of the fish a bit to simulate the hot tandoori oven.
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If Pan Frying the Fish
- Preheat a cast iron or non-stick skillet on medium-high.
- Add about 1 Tbsp of ghee, or olive oil if you don't have ghee. Ghee makes a more traditional and more rich flavor.
- When the ghee or oil is quite hot, add the filets, skin or plain side down.
- Cook for roughly 3 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium, flip the fish over to finish cooking for another 3-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of your filet.
- Serve with a drizzle of ghee over top.
Note
We serve this with sauteed green vegetables, other Indian dishes such as saag or carrots, or anything you prefer.
