Pomfret in Coconut Milk Sauce from Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• About ¼ cup fresh or frozen curry leaves
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 2 cups canned coconut milk, divided equally into the thinner and thicker milk, or 1 cup “second pressing” and 1 cup “first pressing” fresh coconut milk (see Note)
• ½ to 1 cup water
• ¼ cup thinly sliced ginger
• 8 green cayenne chiles, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 2 cups coarsely chopped onions
• ½ cup thinly sliced garlic
• About 1 cup coarsely chopped tomatoes
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Scant ½ cup coarsely chopped mint leaves
• ½ cup coarsely chopped coriander leaves
• 3 to 4 tablespoons water
• Salt
• 3 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil, or a blend
• 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped ginger
• One 1½- to 2-pound pomfret, fresh or defrosted (see headnote), cleaned and scaled, or substitute two 1-pound pompano or other firm-fleshed whole fish
• Scant ½ cup coarsely chopped shallots
• 1 teaspoon coarsely chopped garlic