Tandoori sea bream recipe

This hot and spicy tandoori style BBQ sea bream recipe from Anjum Anand makes al fresco summer dining a virtuous activity. Serve alongside salad and wholemeal pittas for a delicious, guilt-free dinner.

Ingredients: 

2 whole sea bream, cleaned, gutted and fins removed by fishmonger

2tbsp butter to baste, melted

Good pinch of chaat masala (optional)

Lemon wedges and fresh coriander to serve

For the marinade

4 cloves garlic, crushed into a fine paste (around 2tsp)

1tsp fresh ginger paste

2tsp lemon juice

2tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder (or paprika for colour and chilli powder to taste)

2/3 tsp cumin powder

1tbsp vegetable oil

1tbsp gram flour

7tbsp thick Greek yoghurt

Good pinch of carom seeds

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Using a sharp knife, score the sea bream four times on each side through the skin, about ½cm into the flesh. Marinate the fish in a squeeze of lemon juice and a little salt, (inside and out) for 10-15 minutes.

Dry-roast the gram flour in a pan until golden – this takes just minutes, stirring often. Leave to cool.

Stir together the yoghurt, black pepper, cumin, chilli powder/paprika, carom seeds, ginger and garlic pastes, lemon juice, oil and gram flour. Add salt to taste – it should be a little salty and a bit spicy.

Smear the marinade thickly over both sides of the fish and into the slits. Leave to marinate for 20-30 minutes at room temperature.

Preheat the BBQ to a medium-high flame. You can use a hinged fish rack but be careful that it doesn’t flatten it too much. You can also use 2 metal skewers per fish. Oil the grill rack and the fish rack.

Place the fish on the heat and cook for 6-8 minutes on the first side or until the underside is a lovely golden colour with some areas of charring. If the coals are too hot, rake them away slightly. Turn the fish and cook the underside in the same way. If using skewers the fish might stick a little to the actual grills. The fish is done when golden on both sides – to check if it is done on the inside, you can use a thermometer which should read 60C when poked into the thickest part of the fish.

Baste with the melted butter once per side as it cooks and once as it comes off the heat. Sprinkle with chaat masala if you are using and serve with wedges of lemon.