Masgouf (fish topped with a tomato and curry sauce)

Catfish gets a bad rap for being a bottom feeder but most U.S. catfish is actually farm-raised so they are only eating the fish-food pellets the farmers are giving them, which are made from soy-beans, corn, and rice.  It is a good fish to use because it is very mild tasting, lean, and nutritious.

Ingredients

1 ½ pound fish (I used catfish)
1 lemon
2 Tablespoons oil
3 medium or 2 large onions
3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon curry (more if you want it spicier)
2 dried limes (aka numi bussra) *
  *Dried limes can be purchased at chaldean markets.  If you cannot obtain them, you can substitute the juice of one lemon.
½ teaspoon salt plus some
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
¼ cup parsley leaves
 

Instructions

Prep
Chop onions
Smash garlic with the side of a knife and chop finely
Split dried limes open and remove the black pulp from them.  If the pulp is in big pieces, chop it
Chop the parsley fine

Fish
Your fish should be scaled and split open. 
Squeeze lemon over the fish and sprinkle with salt.
Bake the fish in the oven at 500 degrees for 20 minutes.
While the fish is baking, work on the topping.

Tomato/Curry Topping
Heat oil in a pot over medium heat
Add chopped onions and stir occasionally until they are clear and soft
Add the garlic to the pot with the onions and stir occasionally for a few minutes
Add the dried lime pulp to the pot and stir for a few minutes.
Add salt, curry, tomato paste, and parsley and stir for a few minutes.

Remove the fish from the oven and spread on the tomato/curry topping.
Bake for another 15 minutes at 500 degrees.

Optional  step – broil the fish for 5 minutes so the topping gets blackened a bit.

Serve with rice