Healthy Pan Seared Tandoori Salmon
Pan seared tandoori salmon is crisp on the outside, moist and tender inside.
Protein Rich Ingredient – Salmon
Theme for this week’s blogging marathon is cooking with a protein rich ingredient and I chose salmon. Starting today, I will post 3 protein rich salmon recipes. The first in the series is pan seared tandoori salmon.
Why Salmon
Salmon is a good source of nutrients; vitamins, proteins and minerals. Though it is nutrient rich, salmon gets most of the attention because of it’s omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids are essential fatty acids that our body can not produced and has to come through food. These fatty acids are good for heart, hence making salmon one of the healthiest fishes and a superfood.
How to cook Salmon
Salmon is easy to cook. Cook salmon on stove top, bake in the oven or even on a grill. Of all the methods, pan searing on a stove top is by far the most easiest and fastest way to cook salmon. Season salmon with spices and sear it on a hot pan for couple of minutes on each side. Mind you, cooking time of salmon varies on the thickness of the fillet.
Season salmon with salt, pepper, chili powder and cook it in a pan as I did here or use a spice mix to season salmon. Some of the spices mixes I use are tandoori masala and creole seasoning.
How to Serve Pan Seared Salmon
I personally prefer pan seared salmon with some salad. Regardless of how it is seasoned, salmon tastes good with some steamed vegetables, grilled vegetables or a salad.
Healthy Pan Seared Tandoori Salmon Recipe

Pan seared salmon fillet is seasoned with tandoori masala and seared in some oil. It is a quick and easy recipe
- 0.4 lbs Salmon Fillet
- 1 tsp Oil
- ½ tsp Tandoori Masala
- ¼ tsp Chili Powder
- ⅛ tsp Garam Masala
- Pinch of Turmeric Powder
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 - 1 ½ tsp Lime or Lemon Juice
- 1 ½ tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
- 1 tsp Oil
In bowl mix all the ingredients listed under marinade.
- Rub the marinade into salmon and marinate for 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
If salmon is marinated overnight, leave it on counter top for ½ - 1 hour to bring to room temperature.
Heat a pan with ½ - 1 tsp of oil.
When oil is hot, place the fillet in the pan, skin side down.
Sear it for couple of minutes on medium - medium high flame.
Turn it around and sear it for another couple of minutes.
Repeat the same on remaining two sides as well. Check notes when cooking with a thin fillet.
Remove from pan, let the fillet rest for few minutes for the juices to sink back into the fillet and for excess oil to drain off.
Serve salmon on a bed of lettuce or with grilled/steamed vegetables or lima beans salad.
- Thin Fillet of Salmon:When cooking with a thin fillet of salmon, cook on two sides; skin side down and then flip. Cook each side a little longer so that fillet is cooked evenly even in the inside.
- Variation: Substitute tandoori masala with creole seasoning or use a simple marinade with chili powder, garam masala and salt, as in this grilled salmon recipe.
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This day in:
2011 – Shahi Gobhi
2014 – Coconut Chutney
2016 – Sauteed Green Beans with Kolhapuri Masala
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#88
Comments
they look so perfect 🙂
Thanks Chitz
Delicious one,will try your version soon.
Let me know how you like it. Thaanks
That is a wonderfully cooked salmon Usha. I am new to cooking fish and keep learning new every day.
You will love cooking with fish Gayathri. It is so easy to cook, cooks very fast, it is healthy and tastes good as well.
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Love this sort of dishes with salmon, i have tried chettinad style of fish fry with this fish. Am sure my fish loving family will definitely love this tandoori salmon.
The pictures are beautiful Usha, love how well everything is coordinated!..and I have read so much about salmon’s health benefits, good choice!
Though I don’t eat fish but can tell that its perfectly cooked and its so fresh.
They look so perfect and nicely done…
perfectly cooked salmon Can easily dig into this any time
The pictures are awesome. Love the contrasting colors!
Wow, lovely pics Usha. You have beautifully presented it and those golden browns on the outside are so tempting.
Thanks Nisha
Salmon with Indian flavors sounds great Usha. It looks perfectly flaky and the crust looks amazing.
Omg!! I want this fish!!! Looks so yummy.
Tandoori masala makes every dish exotic and your pan seared fish looks just amazing. Love the beautiful and rustic pictures too.