Savory Fish Curry With Roasted Cauliflower and Okra Recipe

Recipe From Pete Evans
Pete Evans Fat for Fuel

Pete Evans and Dr. Mercola recently joined forces and created a new cookbook, “Fat for Fuel Ketogenic Cookbook.” In this book you’ll discover easy and delicious recipes, along with practical tips on how to follow a ketogenic eating plan. CLICK HERE to order your copy now.

If you like (or love) curry, then you've probably tried different variations of this colorful and flavorful dish. India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka all have their own take on curry. Some cooks may make changes to a recipe because certain ingredients may not be available in their area, and they use substitutes instead that'll help retain the essence of the curry.1

Succulent fish, fresh and organic vegetables and flavorful spices come together in this Quick and Savory Fish Curry With Roasted Cauliflower and Okra Recipe. It’s sure to be a hit among curry lovers or those who are tasting this dish for the first time.

Looking for more healthy and delicious recipes to serve to your family and friends? Check out the “Fat for Fuel Ketogenic Cookbook” that Pete Evans and I have collaborated on. It features ketogenic diet-friendly recipes that can satisfy your taste buds and potentially improve your health. Available starting November 14, this cookbook also provides you with valuable information regarding the basics of the ketogenic diet.

 

Quick and Savory Fish Curry With Roasted Cauliflower and Okra Recipe

Prep Time: 25 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Serving Size: 4

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1/2 head cauliflower, broken into florets
  • 4 snapper fillets, approximately half a pound each (or any firm white fish such as cod, sea bass or bream) skin on or skinned and pin-boned
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1-inch piece of ginger, finely grated
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 5 cardamom pods
  • 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes
  • 1 pinch freshly cracked pepper
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 12 curry fresh leaves
  • 1 1/2 cups organic coconut milk
  • 1 2/3 cup fish stock or water
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 8 okras, halved
  • 1 large handful baby spinach leaves
  • 1 handful coriander leaves

Procedure

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Mix the turmeric and ground coriander together in a small bowl and set aside.
  3. Place the cauliflower florets, 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and half of the spice mix into a bowl and toss to combine. Transfer the cauliflower mixed with the spices onto a lightly greased oven tray with a little coconut oil and spread as a single layer. Season with a little salt and roast in the oven for 15 minutes, until golden. Set aside.
  4. Rub the remaining turmeric spice into the flesh side of the snapper fillets, then squeeze the juice of one lime over it. Leave to marinate for 10 minutes, cover and place in the refrigerator.
  5. Meanwhile, heat the remaining coconut oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add the onion and sauté gently for five minutes until softened and translucent. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, then add the cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, chili flakes, a pinch of freshly cracked pepper and curry leaves, and cook for another minute.
  6. Add the roasted cauliflower, okra, coconut cream and fish stock. Mix to combine, then place the fish flesh side down and gently simmer for eight to 10 minutes until the fish is nearly cooked through.
  7. When the fish is almost cooked, add the spinach leaves and gently mix them through.
  8. To finish, season with the fish sauce (add more fish sauce to taste if desired), squeeze over the remaining lime juice, and garnish with fresh coriander.
Tip

Try to limit your intake of white fish like snapper, because these are usually contaminated with harmful toxins like mercury. Purchase fish from a trustworthy source, such as a local fish monger you can trust, who can provide you with high-quality fish. This is because some sellers will tell you that you’re buying a good-quality product when it is actually a low-quality fish.

This Quick and Savory Curry Recipe Will Add Spice to Your Meals

If you’ve run out of ideas on how to cook curry, this recipe is a good choice. Fish may not be the first ingredient of choice when it comes to curry (chicken and beef are more commonly used),2 but this delicious dish makes it work, as the spiciness of the curry perfectly complements the mild flavor of the fish.

What Are the Health Benefits of Okra?

Okra is a vegetable from the Malvaceae or mallows family. It can have either a smooth surface or a rough texture, and is naturally green, although it can come in red varieties too. Because okra is tough to chew, it must be steamed or boiled before eating. Once cooked, it develops a gelatin-like quality.

It’s unfortunate that not many are familiar with okra, because it carries outstanding health benefits. Okra is a low-calorie vegetable that’s abundant in insoluble and soluble dietary fiber, and can potentially aid with promoting optimal digestive function, reducing cholesterol levels, lowering heart disease risk and improving weight management (since okra can help promote satiety). Okra also contains iron, calcium, manganese and folate, plus these beneficial vitamins:

  • Vitamin A: Together with flavonoids such as beta-carotene, xanthan and lutein, vitamin A can work toward promoting good vision and healthy skin and mucous membranes.
  • Vitamin B6: This B vitamin can assist with metabolizing fat, carbohydrates and amino acids, promoting health of lymph nodes and regulating blood sugar levels. Other potentially health-boosting B vitamins in okra include vitamins B1 (thiamin), B3 (niacin) and B5 (pantothenic acid).
  • Vitamin C: This can help support immune function, prevent free radical damage and regulate blood pressure levels.
  • Vitamin K: It can help the body’s blood clotting function. Together with vitamin D and calcium, vitamin K can support bone health as well.

When buying okra, pick those that are bright green, have unblemished skin and feel firm but not hard. It’s best to look for okra at your local market, particularly from May to September when it’s in season. Okra can be stored in your refrigerator’s vegetable compartment in paper bags for up to four days.3

When cooking the okra, bring them to room temperature first. This allows the vegetable to release less moisture when cooked. You can opt to leave the okra whole when cooking, but if you want to cut or slice the vegetable, pat the okra dry first before cutting or slicing. Use a ceramic knife to help slow the browning process.

What’s Curry Without Delectable and Tasty Spices?

It's undeniable that the spices in this curry provide heaps of delicious flavor. Let's take a closer look at two of these spices and their health benefits:

  • Cardamom pods: These small and greenish pods have a strong, unique and spicy-sweet or camphor-like flavor. There are many types of cardamom pods, but no matter what variety you use, you can get the most intense flavor once you break open whole pods to release the tiny black seeds. These seeds can be ground using a spice mill or a mortar and pestle. A little definitely goes a long way.

Cardamom pods are known for their high manganese content, accounting for around 80 percent of the recommended daily value in a single tablespoon. Cardamom pods also offer fiber, minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium and zinc, and vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and C. There are also volatile oils in cardamom pods that may play a role in their ability to target gastrointestinal disorders, according to studies. While limonene is considered the most prominent, these volatile oils may deliver benefits too:

Pinene

Sabinene

Myrcene

Phellandrene

Terpinene

Terpinolene

Linalool

Terpinen-4-oil

A-terpineol

A-terpineol acetate

Citronellol

Nerol

Geraniol

Methyl eugenol

 

Ancient medical tradition noted that cardamom may help ease sore throats, tooth and gum infections, congestion, tuberculosis and stomach, kidney and lung problems. Lab studies discovered that cardamom pods can be helpful in successfully addressing urinary tract infections and gonorrhea, and in delivering heart-protective properties. Cardamom pods were also said to be linked to relieving muscle problems.

Moreover, cardamom pods were used for many centuries as an aphrodisiac that helped addressed impotency. Early and modern medicine also believed that cardamom pods have mood-elevating capabilities and can work as an antidepressant and in aromatherapy.

  • Coriander leaves or cilantro: Whether you like coriander leaves (or cilantro) or not, you cannot deny that they are a valuable storehouse of essential nutrients that can benefit your health. These low-calorie, no-cholesterol leaves contain flavonoids, polyphenols and phenolic acids, such as the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds kaempferol and quercetin.

Kaempferol is known to assist with lowering the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, while quercetin is an antioxidant that can help prevent histamine release, allowing cilantro to act as a natural antihistamine. Minerals like potassium, calcium, manganese, iron and magnesium, B vitamins and vitamins A, C and K are also present in coriander leaves.4 These nutrients help contribute to the antiseptic, antifungal, antioxidant, antibacterial and disinfectant properties that coriander leaves are known for.

Coriander leaves are also promoted as a chelator or remover of heavy metals from the body. Although research regarding this supposed benefit is scarce, there is evidence showing that consuming these leaves along with foods containing heavy metals can reduce the latter’s toxicity in the body.5

A Guide to Choosing High-Quality Fish

There are considerations you have to make when buying snapper fillets, or any type of fish for that matter. Mercury contamination is a major problem hounding most types of fish today, and can outweigh fish’s potential health benefits. If you’re buying fish, get them from a trusted local fish monger to avoid being defrauded. If you don’t have access to or contact with a local fish monger and need to buy seafood from grocery stores or generic big box retailers, check for these third party labels that can verify the fish’s quality:

  • Marine Stewardship Council: Arguably the best-known third party label for fish, the logo features the letters MSC and a blue check mark in the shape of a fish.
  • Global Aquaculture Alliance Best Practices: Although farmed fish isn’t an ideal type of fish you should consume, if you have no other choice, look for this symbol.
  • State of Alaska’s “Wild Alaska Pure:” The state of Alaska doesn’t permit aquaculture, so all Alaskan fish is wild caught. Even better, the state has some of the cleanest water and some of the best maintained and sustainable fisheries. The “Wild Alaska Pure” logo is a reliable standard, and is a good sign to look for when buying canned Alaskan salmon.

You can also substitute the snapper in this recipe to either wild-caught Alaskan salmon or sockeye salmon. What makes these two special are the fact that they’re not allowed to be farmed and are always wild caught. Bioaccumulation of toxins is also reduced in these two types of fish, because they don’t feed on contaminated fish. Sockeye salmon also has a lower risk of bioaccumulating toxins because of its short life cycle.

About Pete Evans

Pete Evans

Pete Evans is an internationally renowned chef who has joined forces with Dr. Mercola to create a healthy cookbook that’s loaded with delicious, unique Keto recipes, ideal for people who want to switch to a ketogenic diet. The “Fat for Fuel Ketogenic Cookbook” is the perfect tool to help get you started on your ketogenic journey. CLICK HERE to order your copy now.

Pete has had numerous noteworthy contributions to the culinary world. He has not only cooked for the general public, but he’s also cooked a royal banquet for the Prince and Princess of Denmark, a private dinner for Martha Stewart, and even represented his hometown at the gala GʼDay USA dinner for 600 in New York City.

Pete’s career has moved from the kitchen into the lounge room with many TV appearances including Lifestyle channel’s “Home” show, “Postcards from Home,” “FISH,” “My Kitchen Rules” and “A Moveable Feast.”

+ Sources and References