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Adeni Classic Fish Sauce (Sanunat Samak) — صانونة صيد او سمك

Posted in Fish, Yemeni Dishes on July 25, 2010| 7 Comments »

This is an Adeni classic. Since Aden is a coastal region people eat fish more often than lamb, beef or chicken. And this is a 2-3 time a week meal for many families who, most often, can only afford fish. Although nowadays, even fish is becoming very expensive.

I love this dish, it is one of my favorites. It brings back warm memories of my dear mother who taught me how to make it, and me working hard to make it taste EXACTLY like hers. This was the very first dish I learned from my mother, and was the only one I could cook for a long time until she taught me some other dishes.

Well, here is the recipe:

1) 1 7oz salmon fillet cut into 2 bite cubes (of course you can use any fish that holds well in a sauce and does not break easily. You can use a whole rainbow trout, fresh tuna steaks, and salmon)

2) 1 small onion finely chopped

3) 2 medium sized patatoes quartered

4) 2 tbslp olive oil

5) 2 cloves garlic minced

6)1 medium tomato diced

7) 1 1/2 tbslp tomato paste

8 ) 1 tblsp of red chilly sauce or more if you so desire (usually adenis have this on hand–they soak red chillies overnight and then liquidize them in a liquidizer and store in an air tight container in the refrigerator)

9) quarter of a medium sized eggplant cubed [and/or a fistful of okra]

10) 2 tblsps of finely chopped cilantro

11) Salt to taste

12) 1/2 tsp of concentrated tamarind paste

13) 1/4 tsp of ground cumin

14) 1/4 tsp of ground coriander

Alright, here goes. On medium heat sautee the onions in the oil with the garlic and patatoes unitl the onions is golden brown. Add, the fish and sautee for about 3 minutes, until the fish changes color but is not entirely cooked through.

Add the chillie paste/sauce, cumin and coriander and let cook for another 2-3 min. DO NOT ADD WATER. You want the flavors to marry without being diluted with water. Then add the eggplant and/or okra, tamarind paste, and diced tomatoes and let cook again for about 2 minutes.

Add a cup of water and let simmer under medium to low heat unitl the patatoes are cooked through. Add salt to taste and add the tomato paste and let the sauce thicken, and cook until the oil rises to the surface. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with rice.

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Sayadiyah (Fish and Rice) –صيادية مع بصل محمر

Posted in Fish, Rice, Yemeni Dishes on July 25, 2010| 5 Comments »

You will love the taste of the deep fried onions that is the secret in this recipe. My husband loves this fish and rice dish with the tahini and yoghurt sauce.

You will need:

1) 1 cup of rice (just washed and not soaked) )

2) 2 7 oz. salmon steaks (you can really use any kind of fish that will hold up and not crumble or break)

3) 1 onion thinly sliced, covered in flour and deep fried until well browned (be careful that you do not burn it)–once the onion slices are browned let them cool and then grind them (you can use a mortar and pestle) and add one cup of warm water to the mix, a pinch of ground cloves and a pinch of ground coriander.

4) few cloves (2-3)

5) few pods of cardamon (2-3 just cracked open)

6) 2 tsp of ground cumin

7) 1/2 tsp of black pepper

8) 2 tsp of ground coriander

9) 3 cloves of garlic finely minced

10) 3 tblsp of Olive Oil

11) salt to taste

12) one medium onion diced

13) 1 small tomato finely chopped

14) 1/2 tsp of tomato paste

15) salt to taste

Cut the salmon steaks–each steak into three pieces. Mix inhalf of the cumin, coriander, black pepper, garlic and add salt to taste. Cover the steaks well. Place a pot on medium heat and add the Oilive Oil,and fry the fish just until it is well browned on each side (it does not need to be thorougly cooked through, it will cook with the rice as well). Take it out and put on a plate.

In the same oil (if you do not have any left after frying the fish add about 3 tblsp more). Fry the onions until golden brown with the garlic. Then add the rest of the spices, tomato, and the tomato paste. Let cook until the tomatoes have melted into the sauce.

Return the fish and layer onto the sauce in the pot. Add the rice and pourthe deep fried onion mix and add about 1/2 cup of water for the rice to cook. Gently mix with a spoon (GENTLY or else you will break the fish and your dish won’t look nice during presentation).

Cover and cook under low heat until all the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked.

Serve on a platter with this sauce:

Mix 2 tblsp of tahini paste, with 2 tblsp of yoghurt, 1/4 cup of water, 1/4 cup of white vinegar, salt to taste. Mix well and enjoy with this fish dish.