Why it works: Flour and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 30,404 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Curried Soles
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the onion and spice mix
Fry the sliced onion in a small amount of butter until browned, then drain on a sieve.
Mix the curry powder, salt, and flour in the same pan.
Fry the soles
Rub half the curry mixture onto the soles and fry them quickly.
Stew and serve
Place the fried soles on the drained onion, add boiling water or broth, and bring to a boil.
Once simmering, stir in the remaining curry mixture mixed with a few spoons of cold broth or water.
Stew the curry gently for 15 to 20 minutes, then add lemon juice or chili vinegar and serve hot.
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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Flour + lemontop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,404 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Onion + flourtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together32,460 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Onion + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,646 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Soles
- Provide the main protein, which firms and turns opaque as the fish cooks in the sauce.
- Onion
- Browning gives sweetness and depth, and the slices soften into the stew.
- Curry powder
- Supplies the aroma and spiced flavour that defines the dish.
- Flour
- Thickens the curry liquid slightly so it clings to the fish.
- Lemon juice or chili vinegar
- Adds acidity at the end that brightens the rich, spiced flavour.
The step that matters
Frying the curry-rubbed soles quickly. Searing the spiced fish briefly sets its surface and helps it hold together during stewing. Overcooking at this stage leaves the delicate fillets dry and prone to breaking apart in the simmering liquid.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, lemon):
- Arrowrootfits better
- Kalefits better
- Shallotfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, lemon. 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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