I have had a thing for turmeric lately. I’m not sure why, to be honest. Whether it’s turmeric rice with fresh turmeric root or this cod dish with turmeric French fries. If you’ve never had turmeric French fries, keep reading because they are amazing!
I’ve mentioned before that cod is one of my favorite white fish to cook with. I’m not a huge fan of tilapia… I find it too bland. Flounder is great and not too different from cod. And I love halibut, but it’s a firm fish, which is great for its own sort of recipes. But cod has a beautiful flavoring, its super versatile ~ great simply made or spiced up, and it is the perfect flakey fish.
With my recent turmeric kick, I had a craving to make turmeric French fries. So, fish and chips felt like the perfect go to recipe to make with a great fusion twist. Knowing I wanted to make turmeric fries, I waxed and waned on how I wanted to approach the fist. I knew, obvs, that I wanted to use cod, but I wasn’t sure how I wanted to season it.
I ended up opting for kind of a Pakistani/Indian fusion seasoning blend with flavors of cumin, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, and ginger. Kind of an earthy, smoky, sweet, and floral flavoring, if you can picture that? I mean, I feel that turmeric is definitely a very earthy flavored seasoning, and paprika kind of gives a blend between earthy and smoky ~ presuming you’re not using sweet paprika! Cardamom and coriander have an awesome blend of floral and sweet which pairs really nicely with the cinnamon and ginger.
I fried the fish up in a cast iron pan in melted coconut oil. When I flipped it, though, I added butter and garlic, spooning the butter over the fish. My pieces of cod were thick, so I covered the pan for an additional 2 to 3 minutes to ensure the inside was cooked through.
The fries I tossed in duck fat ~ yeeesss!!! But, I mixed the duck fat with turmeric, paprika, and a pinch of cayenne for a hint of heat. Ten minutes before the fries finish cooking, I tossed them with melted butter and minced garlic. I know, I know, this is totally a heart attack waiting to happen, but it is so worth it!
Now, I know fish and chips is usually served with brown vinegar or tartar sauce, but I served this all up with tzatziki. Tzatziki is lighter and more vibrant in flavor than tartar sauce, and it really complimented the Indian/Pakistani flavors! This is a total fusion dish!
And that’s really it! There’s not much more to say about this dish. It is a total spin on traditional fish and chips… I won’t claim it’s healthier, because it’s not! But it’s a fantastic cheat meal to have once in a while… we all deserve to indulge ourselves here and there, and there’s nothing like duck fat fries to do just that, amirite?
IF you do want to cut back on some of the fats and calories, here are some tips on how to do so!
First, you can skip the butter completely when you flip the cod. The flavor of the fish will not suffer by skipping this!
Second, for the fries, you could do 1 tablespoon of melted duck fat with 1 tablespoon of chicken broth instead ~ it still works beautifully!
Lastly, you could skip the garlic butter during the last 10 minutes of cooking the fries, but I would recommend cutting the cooking time by about 5 minutes to not overcook your fries!
I definitely recommend indulging yourself occasionally, but not too often! But, if you love the flavors and don’t want the added fats, no problem! It’s easy to make adjustments and still have a delicious dinner!
Enjoy!
Indian Fish & Turmeric Chips
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Indian Fusion
- Cuisine: Dinner
Ingredients
Indian Fish
1½ – 2 lbs cod, cut into individual servings
1 TB cumin
2 tsps paprika
1 tsp turmeric
½ – 1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp ground ginger
1 TB coconut oil
2 TBs butter
6 garlic cloves, minced
Turmeric Chips
4 – 5 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 TBs duck fat, melted
1½ tsps turmeric
1 tsp paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 TB butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
sea salt
To Serve
tzatziki
lemon wedges
Instructions
Make the Turmeric Chips
Preheat the oven to 400°F
Melt the duck fat in the microwave ~ about 25 to 30 seconds. In a small bowl, whisk the duck fat with the turmeric, paprika, and cayenne pepper. On a baking sheet, toss it together with the potatoes. Bake for 30 minutes, toss halfway through.
Melt the butter in the microwave ~ about 20 to 25 seconds. Drizzle over the potatoes with the minced garlic and toss. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss with desired amount of sea salt.
Make the Fish
Meanwhile, make the fish. In a small bowl, mix together the cumin, paprika, turmeric, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, and ginger. Pat the fish dry and generously season with the spice mix on both sides.
Melt the coconut oil in a cast iron pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the fish. Cook for 5 minutes. Carefully flip and add the butter and garlic cloves. Cook an additional 3 minutes while spooning the butter and garlic over the top. Cover and let cook for 2 additional minutes, or until the center is cooked through and the fish is flakey.
Plate the fish and serve with lemon wedges and the turmeric chips with a side of tzatziki.
Enjoy!
Keywords: Indian fish, Indian cod, turmeric chips, turmeric fries, fish and chips, Indian fusion, Greek fusion, British fusion, how to make turmeric fries, golden fries, golden turmeric fries
