Marinated Sweet and Sour Fish

From the "Jerusalem" cookbook. This recipe is the original one that served as inspiration for Cod in Sweet and Sour Pepper Sauce, except this one calls for frying the fish. There are some small variations in the ingredients, as well. The dish is best served at room temperature preferably after resting a day or two in the fridge, and eaten with as chunk of good bread. t also makes a good starter. Small whole fish, scaled and gutted, are also good in this recipe.

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 3  tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2  medium onions, cut into 3/8 in/1 cm slices (3 cups/350g.)
• 1  tablespoon  coriander seed
• 2  ripe sweet bell peppers, 1 red and 1 yellow, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into strips 3/8 inch/1 cm wide (3 cups/320 grams)
• 2  garlic cloves, crushed
• 3  bay leaves
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons curry powder
• 3  tomatoes, chopped (2 cups/320 g)
• 2 1⁄2 tablespoons sugar
• 5  tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1  lb  white fish fillet, divided into 4 equal pieces (500 g.)
•  seasoned all-purpose flour, for dusting
• 2  extra-large eggs, beaten
• 1⁄3 cup  chopped cilantro (20 g.)
•  salt, pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F/190°C.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large ovenproof frying pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and coriander seeds and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the peppers and cook for a further 10 minutes. Add the garlic, bay, curry powder, and tomatoes, and cook another 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the sugar, vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, some black pepper, and continue to cook another 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoons oil in a separate frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the fish with some salt, dip in the seasoned flour to coat, then in the eggs. Fry about 3 minutes, turning once. Transfer the fish to paper towels to absorb the extra oil, then add to the pan with the peppers and onions, pushing the vegetables aside so the fish sits on the bottom of the pan. Add enough water just to immerse the fish (about 1 cup/250 ml) in the liquid.
4. Place the pan in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until the fish is cooked. Remove from the oven and leave to cool to room temperature. The fish can now be served, but it is actually better after a day or two in the fridge. Before serving, taste and add salt and pepper, if needed, and garnish with the cilantro.