I’ve struggled making a balti now for a few year. I’ve just not been able to get the flavoursome thick balti gravy right. This simplified recipe helped me crack it. Really pleased with the outcome. I’ve modified the dish to remove the meat content. Replaced the meat with fish substitutes and swapped the chicken stock to vegetable stock, full on pescatarian balti ❤️.

On Good Friday for a number of years we’ve had fish to celebrate tradition. I wanted to make a dish that I would challenge me, adapt to suit and put my own twist on whilst also including fish. Rather than cook the fish with the gravy I pan fried it separately and added it at the last minute. A very simple quick and easy process. Prep taking about 5 minutes and the cooking taking about 15.

Again, I always put my rice on as I start the prep, this way its done and can sit at the back of the hob steaming with a lid on and covered by a tea towel so it’s nice and fluffy. As a little twist I added finely diced mushrooms to the uncooked rice and water. This way the mushroom flavours would absorb the rice and cook at the same time.

Ingredients for the balti –

3 tbsp of rapeseed oil, 1/2 an onion finely diced, 3 cloves of garlic chopped, thumb size piece of ginger grated, 2 green finger chillis diced, 1 tomatoes finely diced, 2 tbsp of tandoori masala powder, 2 tsp of madras curry powder ( any curry powder will do) 4 tbsp of passata, 1 green pepper cut into bite size pieces, 125ml of vegetable stock, 1 tbsp of cider vinegar, a tray of shop bought cold water shrimps, juice of 1/2 a lime and handful of chopped coriander to finish.

Ingredients for the salmon –

Two small fillets of salmon, oil, small knob of butter, salt and pepper.

Method –

Heat the rapeseed oil in a heavy based pan. Like all the dishes, start the process with the finely diced onions once the oil is hot. Fry off the onions for about 5 minutes until nice and translucent. This gives the dish its base!!!

Once the onions are ready, add in the chopped garlic and grated ginger.

Give this a mix around the pan for 30 seconds or so.

Add the ground spices – tandoori masala and madras curry powder (any curry powder will do).

Give this a quick whizz around the pan. The ground spices will start to release their oils which is what you want. Do this for 30 seconds or so. If you over cook the ground spices they will become bitter.

Add in the diced green chillies, diced green peppers, diced tomatoes and tomato passata.

Again give this a good mix around the pan to combine all the ingredients coating everything with the spice mix.

Add your stock. As mentioned, I swapped out the chicken stock for vegetable stock.

Give this a good stir. Allow this to cook for 5 minutes. A balti is usually a nice thick gravy so you need the stock to cook down a little.

Whilst this is cooking down in a separate pan heat a little oil with butter. Season your salmon. Once the butter has melted and the pan is bubbling add your salmon skin side down. This will give you a nice crispy skin.

After 3 minutes or so gently flip the salmon to cook the flesh, this should only take a couple of minutes then remove the pan from the heat. I did add my salmon a little too early to the oil / butter so the skin didn’t go as crispy as I wanted it, but hey, it’s all about learning!!

As the salmon is cooking the balti gravy will have thickened up.

Add in the pro-cooked shop bought small shrimps. Due to the size they will only a minute to heat through.

Again, give the pan a good stir to ensure the shrimps are fully coated in the gravy then added the cider vinegar. Give this a good mix.

To finish the dish add chopped coriander.

Plate up, first the fluffy steamed rice. I don’t usually mention the rice cooking. It’s a simple process but when you get it right it’s the base for most dishes. For two adults I use 1/2 a cup of basmati rice and 1 cup of water. I don’t wash it or soak it. As it is. I do want to keep the starch and give it texture. I bring the rice to a simmer and cook it for only a couple of minutes so the water has disappeared under the top level of the rice. I remove it from the heat keeping it covered allowing it to steam itself. By the time the main dish is usually cooked (20 / 25 minutes) the rice is perfect. I just gently fluff it up with a fork. Not too hard though as you don’t want to break the grains down.

Then I add the shrimp balti mix to the dish, keep a little back.. The salmon is gently placed on top for the shrimp balti gravy. I then spooned over the salmon the reserved balti gravy.

A quick and simple process that’s so rewarding and relaxing.

Thank you for reading my ramblings if you have. I find time in the kitchen allows me to shut off, a little music and a drink enables me to switch off, it’s good to switch off !!

Again the original recipe was taken from the legend that is Dan Toombs but converted to suit myself and the occasion.