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Traditional tandoors (clay ovens) allow for multiple forms of heat to cook food — direct heat from charcoal for grill marks, smoke for added flavor, hot clay walls for a griddling effect, and radiant heat from the pit of the oven that allows everything to bake together!
While not everyone can have a tandoor in their backyard, you can achieve that flame-kissed flavor with our house Tandoori Masala — a blend of 15 single-origin, freshly-harvested spices sourced from across South Asia — paired with the high heat of an Ooni Pizza Oven. Inspired by classic tandoori fish, this recipe starts with your choice of fillet (we love salmon, but halibut and cod are beautiful here, too) marinated in a mix of plain yogurt, tandoori masala, and a little neutral oil. The marinated fish is par cooked in their cast iron Skillet Pan until charred in spots and then cherry tomatoes are added, and the fish is finished with the oven turned off until the tomatoes heat through and just start to burst. Top with cilantro and serve with pickled onions and lemon for squeezing over the fish.
If you want to round out the meal, you can heat up store-bought naan on the residual heat of the stone when the fish is finishing cooking.
This recipe was created in collaboration with Ooni Pizza Ovens.
Asha's Tandoori Masala Fish with Burst Tomatoes
Traditional tandoors (clay ovens) allow for multiple forms of heat to cook food — direct heat from charcoal for grill marks, smoke for added flavor, hot clay walls for a griddling effect, and radiant heat from the pit of the oven that allows everything to bake together!
While not everyone can have a tandoor in their backyard, you can achieve that flame-kissed flavor with our house Tandoori Masala — a blend of 15 single-origin, freshly-harvested spices sourced from across South Asia — paired with the high heat of an Ooni Pizza Oven. Inspired by classic tandoori fish, this recipe starts with your choice of fillet (we love salmon, but halibut and cod are beautiful here, too) marinated in a mix of plain yogurt, tandoori masala, and a little neutral oil. The marinated fish is par cooked in their cast iron Skillet Pan until charred in spots and then cherry tomatoes are added, and the fish is finished with the oven turned off until the tomatoes heat through and just start to burst. Top with cilantro and serve with pickled onions and lemon for squeezing over the fish.
If you want to round out the meal, you can heat up store-bought naan on the residual heat of the stone when the fish is finishing cooking.
This recipe was created in collaboration with Ooni Pizza Ovens.
Ingredients
For the fish
- ¼ cup plain, full-fat Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil, such as canola or rapeseed
- 1½ tablespoons Tandoori Masala
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Two 6-ounce center-cut, skinless salmon fillets or flaky white fish, like cod or halibut
For the tomatoes & assembly
- 1½ cups whole cherry tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and whole
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- Lemon wedges, for serving
- Pickled red onions, for serving (optional)
Methods
- For the marinade, combine the yogurt, oil, tandoori masala, and salt in a medium bowl, and whisk until smooth. Add the fish and coat each fillet fully in the yogurt-spice mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, up to 6 hours (don’t go longer than this because the enzymes in the yogurt will start to break down the fish).
- Preheat your Ooni pizza oven to 662°F (350°C). You can check the temperature inside your oven quickly and easily using the Ooni Infrared Thermometer. Place your Skillet Pan in the oven for 5 minutes to preheat.
- While the oven is preheating, place the cherry tomatoes, garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt in a medium bowl and toss to coat the tomatoes in the oil. Set aside.
- Remove the Skillet from the oven, drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and place the fish in the pan. Return the Skillet to the oven and cook until the salmon starts to char in places
- Cook in the oven for 3 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through until the top of the fish is beginning to char in spots. Remove the Skillet from the oven and pour the reserved cherry tomatoes and garlic around the fish fillets. Turn off the oven and return the fish to the oven to finish cooking in the residual heat of the oven, about 2 to 4 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet. It’s ready to serve when the fish flakes easily and the tomatoes start to burst.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve directly out of the pan along with lemon wedges and pickled red onions, if using. Enjoy on its own or with naan.
