Masgouf – Grilled Fish – An Iraqi National Dish –

Masgouf – Grilled Fish – Iraqi Food –

Masgouf is a grilled fish delicacy considered by many as the national dish of Iraq. Our first magouf experience was at an Iraqi restaurant in Dubai called ‘Al Maskoof Al Iraqi‘. We were served a large Iraqi carp that weighed around 4 kilograms. This moist and flaky fish became the most significant meal of our time in Dubai. Since then we were looking forward to feature it on hissing cooker.

The term Masgouf does not denote a dish or a recipe, but a cooking technique where a fatty fresh water carp is butterflied and skewered around wood fire. For city dwellers such as ourselves, raising a wood fire is not all that congenial. A lot of you might have the same limitations. With our masgouf recipe, we bring to you a mindfully crafted recipe that keeps the essence of the original dish intact. In fact we are proud to tell you that our version bettered what we enjoyed in Dubai.

In our recipe we marinated a large Indian carp with mild flavours and grilled it in an oven. Our fish weighed 850 grams, you may choose a larger fish depending on the volume your oven could hold. Our mosgouf recipe will yield 2 servings, with 784 kilocalories in each. To follow our grilled fish recipe, you will need the ingredients listed below,

Ingredients, Measurements & Nutritional Values

For Marinade
Extra virgin olive oil	2 tablespoon
Tamarind paste	20 grams
Salt	To taste
Turmeric powder	1/2 teaspoon
Black pepper powder	1 teaspoon
Fresh Water Fish
Catla (Indian Carp)	850 grams
For Salad
Spinach	1/2 bunch
Onion	100 grams
Tomatoes	250 grams
Pomegranate	200 grams
Parsley	A handful
Lemon wedge	4
To Grease The Pan
Sunflower oil	1/2 tablespoon

Click on the nutritional chart below to zoom

Facts

• Fresh water carp like any other fish reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s by 60%.

Video Walk Through – Masgouf – Grilled Fish – Iraqi Food

Instructions – Masgouf – Grilled Fish – Iraqi Food

Make Marinade

1. Add extra virgin olive oil to a bowl. Our oil was infused with garlic. You may choose to flavour yours with garlic or go with the plain one.
2. Add tamarind paste. If you do not find tamarind in your region, substitute with two tablespoons of lemon juice.
3. Add black pepper powder, turmeric powder and salt to your taste.
4. Mix well and rest the marinade for 5 minutes.

Marinate The Fish

When you are at the market to pick your carp, be nice to the fish monger and ask them to butterfly it for you.

1. Place the butterflied carp on a roasting tray and smear the marinade all over the inner flesh.
2. Rest the carp in a refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Grill The Fish

1. 30 minutes later, transfer the fish to an oven preheated to 225ºC (437ºF) and grill for 25 to 30 minutes. Our fish took 29 minutes. Your grilling time may vary depending on the size of your fish.
2. Remove the fish from the oven and rest it for 10 minutes. While the fish is resting start assembling the dish.

Assemble The Dish

1. Grease a tray big enough to hold your grilled fish with sunflower oil. You may use olive oil if you want.
2. Spread a bunch of spinach leaves.
3. Throw in some onions sliced into rings.
4. Place the grilled fish on top of the onion and spinach bed.
5. Add de-seeded and chopped tomatoes, pomegranate pearls, parsley and lemon wedges.

Masgouf – Grilled Fish, another healthy recipe, the hissing cooker way.