Yogurt-Marinated Salmon

This was how I used up the container of yogurt I had bought in case I needed it for the beet and carrot salad.  I was trying very hard not to go grocery shopping again before I left for the East coast to visit family and attend Melody Smurf's Bat Mitzvah.  (Barring weather or drama, I should return tonight.  Yes, I pre-schedule posts when I've been cooking a lot.)  There was salmon in the freezer and I found this recipe online.

This is my first time cooking Indian food.  I've only had it a couple of times.  That's because most of it is way too spicy and heavily seasoned for my tastes.  I like the flavors, just not that much.

If you link to the Allrecipes version of Dahi Machhali Masaledar (don't ask me how to pronounce it), you'll see that it calls for 1/2 tablespoon of cayenne pepper.  That's 1-1/2 teaspoons.  The cayenne and I had a discussion and reached a compromise.  I wouldn't take it out completely, and it wouldn't send me to the emergency room with an asthma attack.  That's where the 1/4 tsp comes from.  Even still, I felt the heat more than I tasted the cumin, which was a surprise.  Feel free to make this as hot as you want.

I only had two servings of salmon in the freezer, so I'm scaling up the recipe for four.  I actually made the marinade for 3/4 recipe because that was how much yogurt I had.  Don't panic when it looks like mustard the next day; that's the turmeric.  I didn't have any fresh cilantro (my herb pot died again) and skipped it.  I did have coriander seed, which I realized I could grind in the coffee grinder that I never use.  Ran out of fresh ginger and used the ground.  I don't think any of these substitutions changed the final product because you can't taste much over the cayenne anyway.

Oh, and Blogger keeps track of my posts.  This is #500!  Get out the confetti, streamers, and rainbow jello!

*1 C nonfat plain yogurt (Greek is ok)
*1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
*8 cloves garlic, minced
*1 tsp ground ginger or a 2" piece fresh, grated
*2 tsp ground coriander seed
*1 tsp ground cumin
*1/4 tsp turmeric
*4 6-oz salmon fillets, skinless and boneless

1.  Place yogurt and seasonings in a one-gallon resealable plastic bag and squish around until everything is well-mixed.  Add the salmon, squish around some more to coat the pieces, and seal the bag.  Place in fridge to marinate several hours or overnight.

2.  Preheat oven broiler and lightly oil a baking sheet to prevent sticking.  Arrange salmon pieces on sheet and broil for 5 minutes.  Carefully flip pieces and cook about 2 minutes more, or until pieces are flaky.

3.  Serve hot, over basmati rice if you have it.

Difficulty rating  π