Great British Chefs and Alfred Prasad, Head Chef at the first Indian restaurant ever to win a Michelin star, the Tamarind in Mayfair, takes Decanter.com through his version of a BBQ. Tandoor grilled monkfish, stunning presentation, samphire tempkora to add crunch, a zingy pomegranate kachumber to add freshness all seasoned with a salty seawater foam. This is like no barbecue seen before.

Tandoor grilled monkfish, pomegranate kachumber, samphire tempkora, ‘sea water’ foam

Chef: Alfred Prasad

Serves: 2

Cooking Time: 90 min

Course: Main

Skill level: Medium

Ingredients

Monkfish

400 g monkfish tail, cut into 100 g chunks

First marinade

10g ginger and garlic paste
1 lime, juice only
sea salt, finely ground

Gram Flour Roux

10g gram flour
15ml vegetable oil

Second Marinade

40g ginger & garlic paste
¾ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp kasundi mustard paste
1 tsp coriander powder
¾ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1 green chilli, seeded, finely chopped
½ bunch fresh mint, chopped
½ bunch fresh coriander, leaves only, chopped
4 kaffir lime leaves, chopped fine
10 ml vegetable oil

For the kachumber:

100g pomegranate seeds
½ cucumber finely diced
½ red onion, finely diced
2 green chillies seeded, finely chopped
1 tomato, de-seeded, diced
½ bunch coriander stem, finely chopped
Himalayan pink salt, finely ground

For the sea water foam:

1tbls olive oil
1 shallot, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled, finely sliced
100ml white wine, dry
250g clams
soy lecithin powder (1% of the liquid weight)

For the samphire tempkora:

100g samphire
150g plain flour
50g gram flour
50g corn flour
1 medium egg
250ml sparkling water, cold
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp cumin seeds
Vegetable oil (for frying)

Method:

For the monkfish, prepare and portion the monkfish tail, marinate with ginger-garlic paste, juice of lime and sea salt and set aside in a colander, to drain

For the gram flour roux, warm 10ml of vegetable oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Add 15g of gram flour, cook over gentle heat for 3 minutes and transfer to a plate to cool

For the second marinade, in a mixing bowl, add the gram flour roux and all the ingredients of the second marinade; mix well. Add the pre-marinated monkfish and mix gently to coat well

For the pomegranate kachumber, in a salad bowl, mix all the ingredients together and set aside

For the seawater foam, heat the olive oil, sliced shallots and garlic in a small saucepan over a low-medium heat. Add the wine and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the clams, cover with a lid and simmer for a further 5 minutes, allowing the clam sot open and release all their natural juices

Pass the contents of the pan through a fine strainer. Weigh the liquid to determine the quantity of lecithin* to use, transfer to a large bowl and allow to cool

For the samphire tempkora, combine the egg and sparkling water and a mixing bowl. Add the other ingredients and mix well; strain through a fine sieve and leave refrigerated until use. Heat the vegetable oil to 180˚C in a small, deep saucepan for deep-frying. To prepare the tempkora, mix small batches of the samphire into the batter and scatter into the hot oil. Fry for 2 – 3 minutes and drain onto kitchen paper

To serve, mount the monkfish on thin tandoor skewers and grill in a tandoor (or mount on bamboo skewers; suspend over a baking tray and grill in an oven) for 6-8 minutes or until the desired doneness. Portion the pomegranate kachumber onto serving plates; place the grilled monkfish on top and garnish with the samphire tempkora. Spoon over the prepared seawater foam on the plate and serve