Fish Pilau

My mother made this fish pilau for the family on special occasions or on a day of abstinence.  It was always a favorite of mine. When I got married, I wrote down her recipe and it quickly became a favorite of my husband and children. If you have young children you can cut back on the chilly powder, it does not affect the taste of the dish. I modified the cooking so I can make the fish in the microwave and the rice in a rice cooker.
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Ingredients

For the fish

4 Fish Fillets ( I used 24 oz of tilapia fillets (4 pieces)
3 large onions
1 can diced tomatoes (28 fluid oz)
1 teaspoon chilly powder ( less if it is very hot)
1heaped teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon jeera powder
1 green chilly (optional)
1 lemon
salt to taste

For the rice

2 cups of rice
1 dessertspoon full of jeera seeds (cumin)
2 pieces of cinnamon (1 inch each)
6 cloves
4 cardamon pods
salt to taste

Fresh coriander for garnish (optional)

Method

To cook the fish on stove-top
Squeeze lemon juice on fish. Add salt to taste and leave aside.

Fry the onions until soft.
Add the tomatoes, spices and green chilly if using. Cook a little till gently bubbling. Add salt to taste. Add fish and cover the pan. Cook on low heat . Do not add water, and shake the pan lightly to cover the fish with sauce. Do not stir or fish might break. When fish is done, keep aside.

Microwave Method

Put the sliced onions in a large microwave safe dish. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and stir to mix. Put in the microwave on high for 5 minutes. The onions should be translucent and soft. Stir and add the tomatoes, spices and green chilly. Mix well and put back in the microwave on high for another 5 minutes. Remove and stir well. 
Now add the fillets and tuck under the sauce so that they are covered all over with the mixture. Cook until the fish flakes. Do not stir, but shake the dish occasionally. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of the fish. Mine were quite thick and took well over 20 minutes. After the first 10 minutes, I remove and shake the dish. I do this every 5 minutes thereafter to check the fish and stir gently (by shaking the dish). Take a fork and gently try to flake the thickest portion of the fish, if it breaks away easily, it is done. Cover the dish and leave aside

Add oil to onions and microwave

When onions are translucent, add the tomatoes, spices, stir and cook again

Remove from microwave and shake gently

When fish flakes easily, the dish is ready

To cook the rice
Rinse the rice till the water runs clear. Soak the rice in water for at least 15 minutes. Leave aside.

Add a teaspoon of oil to the rice cooker .  Now add the whole spices and turn the cooker on until the spices start to smell nice and sizzle a bit. 
Drain the rice and add it to the rice maker,  add water and mix with the spices. Turn on the rice maker and follow the instructions.
To my rice cooker I add 1 more cup of water than the quantity of rice. For example for this recipe since I have 2 cups of rice, I will add 3 cups of water.

cooked rice

Assembling the Fish Pilau

layer rice in the bottom of a serving dish

Next layer half the fish and curry

Next layer rice again

Finish off with the rest of the fish and curry. Add enough curry to moisten the rice, leave some white patches, and do not drown the rice with curry. Add a little more rice, color with some curry and garnish with chopped coriander

6 servings/  nutritional value per serving calories 391.6 / total fat 4.9 g/ cholesterol 55 mg/ carbohydrates 55.8 g/protein 28.2 g