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This month’s recipe comes from Deep Flavors, a new cookbook described as “a celebration of recipes for foodies in a kosher style.”

The author is Ken Horwitz, an attorney and CPA from Dallas, Texas, with a passion for cooking. He tells stories before (and within) almost all his recipes, giving context and history, and he describes step-by-step instructions to maximize the flavor and presentation of the dish.

While that means instructions can be highly prescriptive, the recipes themselves are not so complex that they might put you off from trying them.

Some recipes offer the cook options, such as mushroom soup made either with or without a roux. With either choice, there are simple, but detailed, instructions.

The book’s 15 chapters cover the food landscape, from spice mixtures and pickles, to meaty (and vegetarian) main courses and decadent desserts (lots, but not all, with chocolate).

The “kosher style” element means there are some traditional “Jewish foods,” many using family recipes, and that non-kosher ingredients are either not used or kosher substitutes are suggested.

The book has an international flavor as well, including a selection of Iraqi, Mexican, Italian, French and Indian recipes.

We’ve selected a curried fish recipe for the following except from the book. Enjoy!

Easy Indian fish

You may think that preparing Indian food is daunting and beyond the scope of your capabilities. This is simply not true, now that there are numerous Indian spices and mixtures available from your normal grocery.

Or you can buy from online spice markets such as Penzeys.com or a local Indian or Asian grocer so that you do not need to assemble multiple spices yourself.

In this recipe, use a white-fleshed fish such as Chilean sea bass, black cod (also known as sablefish), red snapper, grouper, cod, haddock or other similar mild-flavored fish.

Do not use salmon, which does not meld well with these flavors. Also be sure to remove the skin from black cod or Chilean sea bass before cooking.

Also note that the type of fish used, and its thickness, will determine how long the cooking time is. For example, a thin snapper fillet will cook much faster than a thick fillet of black cod or Chilean sea bass. Also, these latter two varieties need to be fully cooked, while you need to be careful not to overcook ordinary cod or snapper.

The final flavor of the dish will vary depending on the spice mixtures used. It is easy to change the flavor of the recipe as desired.

Coconut-curry fish

Ingredients:

Neutral-flavored oil or butter for sautéing

2 large shallots or ½ sweet onion, finely chopped

2-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tablespoons ginger, finely chopped

3 pounds fish (see note above)

1 can high-quality, unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk

1 tablespoon garam masala (Indian spice mix)

1 tablespoon sweet curry powder (or another mixture, such as tandoori or tikka masala spice blend)

1 lemon or lime, zested and juiced

1 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Lightly sauté the shallots, garlic and ginger in a small amount of butter or oil until they have wilted and the aroma is incredible.

If you are sautéing in an over-proof pan, add the fish, spices, coconut milk and citrus zest. Otherwise, transfer all of the ingredients except the citrus juice and cilantro to an oven-safe Corning Ware or Pyrex dish.

Reserve the cilantro and citrus juice to be added a couple of minutes before cooking ends.

Place the pan or dish into the oven and cook for 30 minutes or until the fish is just cooked (time will vary depending on its thickness and variety. See note above.)

Serve with basmati rice and a salad or vegetable, and you will have a wonderful Indian-style meal ready in less than an hour.

Deep Flavors, published by Inspire on Purpose, is available from Amazon.com for $39.95 ($9.99 on Kindle). For more about the author and the book, visit www.deepflavorscookbook.com.