Spicy Sweet + Sour Fish with Dates

Name: Spicy Sweet + Sour Fish with Dates (Qaliyeh-ye Khorma)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: Serves: 6
Cuisine: Iranian
Ingredients: 1 scant teaspoon cayenne or 2 red Thai chilies, thinly sliced; 1 cup/85 g chopped fresh cilantro; 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves; 5 Medjool dates, any remaining hard stalk parts removed, pitted and halved; 1 green jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced (optional); 1 teaspoon turmeric; ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper; 6 thick fish fillets (about 2½ lb/1.1 kg), such as salmon, grouper, or halibut, skins and all bones removed; 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour; 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt; 5 cloves garlic, peeled and grated; 1 cup/240 ml apple cider vinegar mixed with 2 tablespoons date molasses or date syrup; 2 tablespoons oil

Qaliyeh-ye Khorma

Preparation info

Serves:
6

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
45 min

Appears in

Cooking in Iran

By Najmieh Batmanglij

Published 2020

About

Locals make this dish with grouper/hamour, but I’ve found it works very well using fresh Atlantic salmon fillets.

Ingredients

dusting

1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1

Asia
Iran
Fish course
Pescatarian
Spicy

Method

For the dusting: In a small bowl, mix together all the dusting ingredients and set aside.
For the fish: Rinse the fish and pat dry, then place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Dust both sides of the fish fillets and place back on the sheet pan. Cover and keep cool until ready to cook.
To cook the fish: Heat the oil in a wid