Why it works: Turmeric and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,279 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Fish Paturi
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Rub the fish pieces with turmeric, mustard, salt, chillies, and mustard oil.
Place the fish on a banana leaf smeared with mustard oil, cover with another leaf, and bind with thread.
Cook
Heat a frying pan over charcoal and cook the fish, turning when one side is done.
Use plenty of oil for frying.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Turmeric + mustardtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,279 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Fish + mustardtop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together238 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Fish + turmerictop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together194 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fish
- Forms the main body of the patty and is cooked through by frying.
- Powdered turmeric
- Adds yellow colour and a warm, earthy flavour to the fish.
- Mustard
- Adds sharp, pungent flavour that complements the fish.
- Mustard oil
- Carries the seasoning and helps the fish brown and not stick during frying.
The step that matters
Turning the fish once one side is done. Turning too early tears the coating and leaves it stuck to the pan. Waiting until the underside has set and released lets the fish cook evenly and keep its shape.
Swap the turmeric
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, mustard):
- Capersfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Celeryfits about as well
- Turmericthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against fish, mustard. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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