Fish Bake/ Pie

This is not the easiest of bakes as i did take quite some tine to get it done. Also i was lazy and did substitute some of the stuff with store bought ones. My aunt passed on this recipe to me and it was somehow much more tastier at her place. I guess I'll have to improve..maybe the next time (if there is one).

Any white fish/tuna- 300 gms (I used cod loins)

Shallots- 1/2 cup chopped

Green chillies- 3 chopped

Pepper- 1 tsp

Ginger paste- 1/2 tsp

Garlic paste- 1/2 tsp

Peas/carrot/corn- 1/2 cup (I used just carrots)

Egg- 2 (optional)

Oil- 2 tbs

Salt- to taste

Clean and cook the fish in a non stick pan with salt and pepper and one tbs of water if its sticking. Once the fish is cooked, take it off the pan and flake it with a fork. Keep aside.

Simultaneously, boil the eggs and once done, peel, slice and keep aside

In the same pan, add some oil and sautee the onions till soft and golden brown. To this, add the green chillies, ginger and garlic paste and sautee till the raw smell dies. Add the carrots and pepper and cook till done. Keep the fish for the end, as it is already cooked. Sautee well with enough salt.

For the mash potato:

Potatoes- 2 big

Butter- 1 tbs

Milk- 3 tbs

Pepper- 1/2 tsp

Salt- to taste

Boil the potatoes with enough water or in a microwave oven. Once cooked, mash with the back of a fork or masher and mix in the butter and slightly warm milk and season with salt and pepper. Keep aside. Make sure you add the milk, bit by bit..just enough to make it fluffy.

For the white sauce:

All purpose flour- 1 1/2 tbs

Butter- 1tbs

Milk 1 1/2 cup

Pepper- 1/2 tsp

Cheddar cheese- 2 tbs (optional)

Salt- to taste

Heat the butter in a sauce pan till it melts. On low flame, add the maida and keep stirring, avoiding lumps. Once it is nicely mixed in, add the milk little by little, again making sure lumps are not formed. Keep flame on high once the entire milk is used up and then add the cheese, salt and pepper. Keep stirring till the sauce becomes thick and creamy. If you think it is too thick, add some more milk.

Final preparation:

Pre-heat the oven to 175C. In an oven proof ceramic casserole layer the fish mix evenly. On top of that layer the eggs and pour the white sauce over this mixture. Finally layer the mashed potato on top and sprinkle some cheese if required. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Notes: Using canned tuna might be easier as you can then avoid the first stage.

Eggs are optional and so are the veggies. I added it so there is some in take of veggies

I was too lazy to make the mashed potatoes, so bought one container from the store which already had butter, cheese, milk and parsley mixed into it. I just had to layer as it is.

While layering, if you pour the white sauce over the potato, you wouldn't get a brown crust, instead it will be white which is what i did, but you can do as the original recipe calls for. You can also put how many ever layers you want. For e.g., if you are not using eggs, you can use one layer of fish, then mashed potatoes, fish and again potatoes and then the white sauce.

If you do not have an oven, heating on high in the microwave for about 5 minutes serves the purpose. Everything is already cooked and so its fine.