It's my own invention! ( Grilled/ Sauteed/Baked Fish)

Mondays can only be good if you are on vacation or have just won the Oscar. Otherwise, however optimistic you may be, you just wait for the day to get over. Somehow.

I saved these recipes all of last week to put up on the blog as 'weekend specials'. But well, like all weekends- this one came and went and before I knew it, we were getting into bed grumbling about Monday morning. So I thought I'd make your Monday a little more exciting. Go home, put on your favourite music, pour out a nice cup of tea ( or wine or whatever works for you) and enjoy cooking!

These are some of Baba's original recipes-  'It's my own invention', as the White Knight puts it in Alice in Wonderland. Baba says cooking is like magic or painting. The ingredients separately smell and taste like nothing, but when they are put together in the right proportion, something beautiful gets created. Beauty is all about the right things in the right amount, isn't it?

Monday Fish ( Baba's special 1). Easy option if you are craving some light, yummy summery continental food.

Grilled/ Sauteed fish

Buy a white fleshed fish Rock fish, Surmai etc type. Get the flesh cut into 4 or 5cm cubes approx. without skin. Take 250 gms for this.

Wash and marinate with freshly crushed garlic, salt,vinegar and an oil of your choice (I most prefer olive oil, reasonable alternative is gingelly oil). Keep aside for 30mts. ( 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, 2 tsbp vinegar, 1 tbsp oil and salt to taste)

Drop half to one tsp of oil into a non stick flat saucepan, let it heat.

Once hot,place the fish pieces and let all sides get sizzled, by turning them over. This has to be done gently lest they break. I like to do them in a sequence piece by piece. Fish requires at most about 3 to 4 mts to cook this way.

Alternative:

Preheat the oven at around 150 degree Celsius for 15- 20 min.

(Make sure your cooking tray is OUTSIDE. If the dish gets too hot, it is difficult to grease and use.)

Grease the oven tray- glass or metal with olive oil ( or regular vegetable oil).

Place the marinated fish pieces on a tray and bung it into the preheated oven. I use only a regular electric OTG ( I have a deep mental bias against Microwave).

Put a little oil on your fingers and braise the fish ( gently cover the fish with a little oil)

Cook it at 200 degree Celsius. The fish will become white and start sizzling.

Take it out when it turns light brown. Fish cooks very fast. Two easy ways of knowing that it’s done: if it’s white and if you can slice through it and it doesn’t stick to your knife.

Serve hot with cut lemon. Garnish the fish with olives and pomegranate seeds.

Total prep time 45mts.

Good quantity for one or two persons.

To make a meal out of this dish, it can be eaten with steamed spinach and a greek salad – largish pieces of tomato and cucumber tossed with broken pepper,crushed garlic and tulsi/ fresh basil leaves .