Will tilapia do? I live in the US. Remember this is for salan/ curry not fried fish. BTW which fish is suitable for frying, desi style.
Re: Type of fish for fish salan/ curry
Tilapia works as a standard, but a better quality fish will take your curry over the edge. Any white fish will do. I really like orange roughy and allaskan pollock.
Re: Type of fish for fish salan/ curry
tilapia has strong fishy smell, cod flakes a lot.Halibut curry is to die for but very pricey, Orange Roughy can be found I Pakistani stores or King Fisher, Cheaper fish would be mackerel,Pollock will flake too much,you need firm flesh and robust fish, trout makes amazing curry but has bones, marinate with ginger garlic turmeric and chilli and fry in oil, take it out and cook curry in the same oil, once curry is almost cooked add fish and simmer, curry can be coconut based, green curry, tomatoes based, with veggies like baigan, zucchini and tomatoes such as Moroccan fish Tagine, my fav.
Re: Type of fish for fish salan/ curry
Halibut would be my first choice. I’m not a fan of tilapia in salans…or really at all. I can only tolerate tilapia of it’s in a fish taco 
Re: Type of fish for fish salan/ curry
be careful with orange roughy, it has alot of mercury
Re: Type of fish for fish salan/ curry
I mostly cook fresh Halibut, its to die for in Sarson ka teil, kalonji and yogurt curry.
Re: Type of fish for fish salan/ curry
Anything pricey or with bones is out, though I am tempted to try the halibut after hearing the raves. What about Kingfisher does it have bones? I use Tilapia for baked fish primarily because it’s tastes good and costs less. But that is not desi style. What would you guys recommend for desi style fried fish.
Ok, how much is Halibut? I googled and it seems it is $14 a pound.
Re: Type of fish for fish salan/ curry
Pls post your recipe of fish salan too - preferably one using yoghurt, as I love the tanginess in a fish salan. I tried ad-hocing once with salmon and it didn’t turn out as nice as I would have hoped.
p.s. salmon has a lovely melt in your mouth, creamy texture in salan if you want to go for that
Re: Type of fish for fish salan/ curry
nnabid Salmon is a fatty fish, best suited for grilling, bbq, baking and poaching, recipes, I prefer Srssoon oil but Canola will do, you have to be careful with sarsoon as it can add raw oil smell, marinate fish in ginger, garlic, turmeric, a bit of chilli powder, shallow fry it and set aside. In fresh oil roast some cumin seed, fenugreek seeds, cracked mustard seed, and a bit kalonji, a couple of green cardamoms, couple of cloves and a few black pepper corn. mix in a paste of 1/2 teaspoon haldi, 1 teaspoon mirch, 1/4 tsp cumin powder. 1/4 tsp dhania powder, and fry it. Once oil separates add 3/4 cup fresh Balkan yogurt, it should be thick and not too tangy, If tangy you may replace half with sour cream, simmer until oil separates, add fish, green chillies and pinch methi, I like to bake in oven at 350 for 20 mins or till desired doneness. I think Perch is best for this, it is loaded with omega3s. Variations you can add coconut fat and or ground almond paste and or blended fried onions before adding yogurt step, me I like simple.
Re: Type of fish for fish salan/ curry
Ok, made it using Tilapia. It turned out great. I used my mom’s receipe but did a bit of variation of marinating the fish first and baking it so it would not break during cooking.
Marinated the fish in ginger gralic paste, lemon juice, salt red pepper, qasoori methi 9dry methi). Then baked it after a little while for about 10 minutes on 400 degrees. Heated oil, used methi dana for baghar (fenugreek seeds) and then onions, made these brown and then added tomato paste and plain yogurt along with coriander powder, turmeric, cloves, black pepper whole, cardamom whole and black cardamom. Added the fish to it after the smooth paste of the salan is almost done and topped it off with coriander and hari mirch. Hubby loved it.
Re: Type of fish for fish salan/ curry
Now you got me motivated, I think I might try a spicy seafood stew Friday, pending permission from wifey, 2 kinds of fish, perch and sardines, shrimp, scallops and vegetables in a clay pot with harissa spices, reminds me of Marrakesh. I will post pics unlike you haha.
Re: Type of fish for fish salan/ curry
^do post pics, it was all gone before I could post pics! BTW you seem like a gourmet cook, clay pot, Harissa spices and all. Do you put the clay pit on an electric stove?
Re: Type of fish for fish salan/ curry
Didn’t quite keep the commitment of seafood stew, wanted to be outside, this Golden Pompano was like heaven bursting in my mouth
Re: Type of fish for fish salan/ curry
yes you can put the clay pot right on the stove and bake in oven after, clay retains heat and you get the radiant heat from it you can cook chicken handi in it also, that Pompano had firm flesh and fine texture, It would be amazing in curry. I get Fridays off so maybe next Friday. You should have seen the look on my wiffy’s face when she put the fish in her mouth.
Re: Type of fish for fish salan/ curry
Wow that looks amazing !! The fiah you bought was whole though! Was cleaning it hard?
Re: Type of fish for fish salan/ curry
You may find it cleaned in some stores, it wasn’t gutted either, I wouldn’t expect my wife to clean it ever, It was worth it for the taste, even better tasting than Halibut. It was only 4 bucks a pound. I am obsessed with knives so I have professional knives though.