Kashmiri tomato fish curry, barramundi simmered on the bone with a cheat's Kashmiri garam masala until the tomatoes break down into a tangy, lightly spiced gravy. Bone-in fish keeps the flavour deep. A Pandit kitchen staple, served with rice.

Tamatar gaad is the Kashmiri Pandit (Hindu Brahmin) tomato fish curry, distinct from the Wazwan-style Muslim Kashmiri fish dishes which lean heavier on Kashmiri chilli and dried mint. The Pandit cooking tradition tends gentler on heat and more reliant on the aromatic warmth of green cardamom, cumin and dry ginger, which gives the dish a clean, fresh quality rather than a fiery one.

Bone-in fish is non-negotiable. The bones release gelatin into the sauce as the fish simmers, adding body and gloss that no amount of cornflour slurry can match. Barramundi (the Australian native, with its firm white flesh) is the right substitute for the Kashmiri river fish that the original would use; substitute snapper, blue eye or kingfish if barramundi is unavailable.

The cheat's Kashmiri garam masala (bay leaves, cumin, cardamom, cloves and black cardamom toasted and ground fresh) is the modern shortcut that delivers most of the flavour of the traditional Pandit version (which uses up to twenty individual spices). Toast in a dry pan for thirty seconds, grind in a mortar, use within a week. The tomatoes break down completely over the cook; the fish simmers in the resulting sauce for ten minutes before serving. Steamed basmati, sliced cucumber and a fistful of fresh coriander.