Eat this with plain rice and make the sauce as hot as you like. In Bengal, the mustard seeds are ground at home, but to make matters simpler I have used commercial ground mustard, also sold as mustard powder. You may also use halibut instead of the salmon.

　　

Ingredients

Serves 2-3

　　

To rub on the fish:

3/4 pound skinless salmon fillet

　　1/4 teaspoon salt

　　1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

　　1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

　　

You also need:

1 tablespoon ground mustard

　　1/4–1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

　　1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

　　1/4 teaspoon salt

　　2 tablespoons mustard oil (use extra virgin olive oil as a substitute)

　　1/4 teaspoon whole brown mustard seeds

　　1/4 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

　　1/4 teaspoon whole fennel seeds

　　2 fresh hot green and/or red chilies (bird's-eye is best), slit slightly

　　

Step 1

Cut the fish into pieces that are about 2" x 1" and rub them evenly with the salt, turmeric, and cayenne. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator for 30 minutes-10 hours. Put the mustard powder, cayenne, turmeric, and salt in a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon water and mix thoroughly. Add another 7 tablespoons water and mix. Set aside.

　　

Step 2

Pour the oil into a medium frying pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the mustard seeds. As soon as they start to pop, a matter of seconds, add the cumin and fennel seeds. Stir once and quickly pour in the mustard paste. Add the green chilies, stir, and bring to a gentle simmer. Place the fish pieces in the sauce in a single layer. Simmer gently for about 5 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked through, spooning the sauce over the fish all the time.

　　Excerpted from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka by Madhur Jaffrey. Copyright © 2010 by Random House. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Buy the full book from Amazon.