Mahi sefeed
White Fish
(By Mrs. Soheila Amiri)
(4 servings)

Ingredients:

For the fried version:

• 4-8 filets of White fish.
• 1 large onion.
• 1 & 1/2 medium lemons (limes will do fine as well).
• 1/2 (4 Oz.) cup all purpose white flour.
• 1 table spoon curry powder (optional).
• 1 table spoon turmeric (Zard Choobeh).
• A touch of salt and black pepper.
• 1 cup (8 Oz.) of milk.
• 1/2 cup (4 Oz.) of cooking oil.

For the baked version:

• 1 medium-large whole white fish.
• 1 large onion.
• 1 large bell pepper, and/or a few jalepenio peppers (if you prefer the spicy taste) .
• 1 head of fresh garlic, peeled and finely chopped.
• 2 cups (16 Oz.) of fresh chopped parsely (jafaree).
• 1/2 cup (4 Oz.) of fresh chopped coriander (gheshneez),
  or,2 table spoons of dried coriander.
• 1 package of dried tamarind (tamr-e hendi).

Directions:

To fry:

Slice the bell pepper, onion, and the whole lemon and set aside. Mix flour, curry powder, turmeric, salt and pepper together. This mixture should have a light orange color. If it is too white, increase the amount of curry and turmeric equally. Pour the milk in a bowl. Pour the cooking oil in a frying pan, put the heat setting to medium, spread the slices of lemon, onion and bell pepper and fry for a few minutes. Dip the pieces of fish in the milk, sprinkle thoroughly with the flour mixture and place in the frying pan on med-low heat. When one side is brown, turn over and squeeze the 1/2 lemon juice over them.

HINTS:

• Dipping the pieces in milk before frying prevents them from
  breaking apart. This is optional.
• Flipping the filets several times, before one side is completely brown,
  prevents curling.
• If you prefer a more zesty taste and are adventurous, add a fewslices
  of Jalapenio peppers while frying.
  

To Bake:

Place the tamarind paste in a bowl containing a cup of water. knead the paste until the seeds separate from the dried pulps. Run the mixture through a kitchen stringer to separate the seeds from the resulting sauce. Set it aside.

Stir fry the chopped onion, garlic, fresh peppers at first and then add the remaining chopped vegetables. Stir fry for a few more minutes. Take it off the heat and set it aside.

Set the oven to bake at 350 degrees (F). Place the fish in an oven safe dish, add a touch of cooking oil, salt and pepper, stuff the fish with the stir fried vegetable mixture and pour the tamarind sauce over the vegetable stuffing. Cover the dish with aluminum foil for half of the baking period. Bake at this setting for about an hour. By the end of the baking period, the outer layer of the fish should have a reddish color and the meat should be flaky to the touch of a fork.

HINTS:

• The above stuffed white fish is the Southern version of the white fish which is traditionally served as new year dinner.
• When buying the fish, ask the clerk to cut the fish on one side only, take the flakes and guts out and leave the head and tail intact.