Name: Salmon with Spiced Coconut Sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 300 g Salmon fillet (cut into 2 fillets ); 1 large onion (finely chopped); 1 medium tomato (ripe); ½ cup coconut milk; 2 cloves garlic; 1 inch ginger; 1 pod green cardamom; 1 inch cinnamon stick; 2 nos dry red chilli; ½ tsp turmeric powder; salt (to taste); 2 tbsp cooking oil

Salmon with a mildly spiced coconut sauce is the recipe for this week. As I may have said before, salmon is one of our favourite fishes. It is easy to prep and to cook. You also get a lot of the good omega3 fatty acid which is good for health. It is important to include fatty fish such as salmon as part of a balanced diet for optimal health. Now you may want to decide whether you would like to buy wild caught or farm bred salmon. Studies have shown that both are nutritionally different.

Things are starting to get back to some kind of normalcy. Businesses are opening up, cultural and sporting events are back! So that also means life is starting to get back on the busy tracks. It seriously gets a bit of getting used to. The crowds, the filled trains, sharing your space with fellow passengers or audiences. In other words we are getting back to being human again and hope it prevails.

Jump to Recipe

I thought this salmon with spiced coconut sauce dish will be an welcoming ode to the hectic pace that we all knew pre-pandemic. The flavours sing in your mouth and the texture is as smooth as silk. With just a few staple spices and a quick whirr of the blender, you can be up and ready to start cooking. Well, the last bit is actually for me, ’cause I love anything that comes without a fuss when it comes to cooking during a busy week!

This dish is a taste of home away from home! I say so ’cause the combination of spices and the sauce is entirely my MIL’s (who is a fabulous cook) but I have replaced the main ingredient with salmon, so I would say it’s my twist on this dish. It got a thumbs up from the family, so I am happy to say that this dish is securely embedded in my repertoire of recipes. Well, I am saying all of these but if you do not give it a try, it doesn’t hold any meaning, so here I am sharing this delectable and easy salmon with coconut sauce recipe.

Salmon with coconut sauce on a bed of rice

Ingredients you need to make salmon with spiced coconut sauce

Some of the key ingredients to cook this dish are:

Salmon: I have used freshly filleted salmon. Prep the salmon by scaling it and cut into about 2 inch thick fillets. I usually measure using the width of my knife!
Onion: I would suggest using Bombay onion or brown onion for this recipe. Bombay onions have this purplish-pink hue. They turn soft when cooked hence good for gravies, sauces and have a sweet taste. You may find these in your local Asian grocer or can order online. Chop them as finely as you can. Please do not use red onions.
Tomato: For this recipe make sure you choose a very ripe tomato. I’ve even made this with cherry tomatoes and it tastes heavenly. Particularly this year I’ve got cherry tomatoes growing in my balcony garden and actually – “cherry tomatoes are growing out of my ears”. Therefore, I’ve not been buying tomatoes during my weekly shopping, at all!
Coconut milk: I have used canned coconut milk, you may use freshly prepared coconut milk too. Back home, we always use fresh homemade coconut milk every time. Fresh coconut milk generally adds a lot to the flavour and texture of the dish. But canned full fat coconut milk gives it a nice smooth texture and delightful flavour too. It is all about ease and flavour, so go on open that can!
Spices: This coconut sauce uses so few spices but delivers big flavours that it is incredible. Just a pod of green cardamom, an inch of cinnamon stick, ginger and garlic combined with turmeric and dry red chilli. If you are not a fan of chillies, you may sub with Kashmiri chillies or paprika powder. But do not skip this spice as the red skin of dry chilli gives this dish its golden red colour.

Steps to make my salmon with spiced coconut sauce

Finely chop onion. Make a paste of ginger, garlic, tomato and dry red chillies in a blender. Add turmeric to the paste, mix well and keep aside.
De-scale the salmon fillets and sprinkle turmeric and salt on both sides. Rub well. We don’t need to marinate the salmon, so season it just before cooking.
Heat oil in a pan, temper with cinnamon and cardamom.
When the oil is nice and fragrant, add the chopped onions. Add a pinch of salth and saute’ for 2 minutes. Cover and let in cook on low heat for 6-8 minutes till they become soft and slightly golden.
Now add the chilli, turmeric, tomato, ginger and garlic paste and saute’ on low heat for about 5 minutes or until oil separates from the spice paste.
Next add the salmon pieces, skin side down first and cook for 1 minute on medium heat. Now carefully flip over both fillets and cook for another 1 minute and flip back.
Finally, pour ½ cup of coconut milk and about 1tbsp water, let it come to a bubble. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes until the salmon is cooked through and oil separates.
Remove from heat, let it rest for a couple of minutes and plate up.

Pin me for later