Spicy Fish Curry

Cook Time 45 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

500g firm white fish, like rockling or mackerel, cut into small steaks or chunky pieces (depending on the fish)

1 lime, juiced

½ tsp salt

1 tsp ground turmeric

½ tbsp ground cumin

½ tbsp ground coriander

1 tbsp chilli powder

3 tbsp ghee or coconut oil

½ tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 green chilli, split lengthways and deseeded

2 sprigs curry leaves

1 piece pandan leaf, knotted

1 cinnamon stick

1 large red onion, halved and sliced

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 cm piece ginger, minced

1 Roma tomato, diced

200ml water (or fish stock)

300ml coconut milk

1 tbsp Sri Lankan curry powder

Juice of ½ lime, to serve

Brinjal pickle, to serve

Cooked basmati rice, to serve

Coconut Sambol

1 large coconut, scraped / or 100g frozen fresh grated coconut (or 100g desiccated coconut refreshed with a splash of ice cold water)

½ small red onion, finely diced

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp fine Maldive fish (not the chunky, flaky variety)

2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder

1 tsp good quality sweet paprika (for giving the sambol a bright colour)

1 lime - zest and juice

Salt, to taste

Method

Add the fish to a bowl with the lime juice, salt, turmeric, cumin, coriander and chilli powder. Refrigerate and leave to marinate for 15 to 20 minutes.

Heat the ghee or oil in a medium saucepan. Add the mustard seeds, allowing them to cook until they just begin to crackle. Add the cumin seeds, green chilli, curry leaves, pandan and cinnamon. Stir briefly before adding the onion, season gently with a pinch of salt and cook until softened and golden. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli, cook until fragrant before adding the tomato. Slightly reduce then add the water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the coconut milk, bring to a gentle simmer. Gently place the fish pieces into the sauce. Cover and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes. Add the curry powder and gently stir, being careful not to break the fish. Simmer for a further 3 to 5 minutes, until the sauce slightly thickens.

Remove from the heat and finish with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and serve with a bowl of cooked rice, coconut sambol and brinjal pickle.

For coconut sambol, in a mortar and pestle add all ingredients except for the coconut and lime juice, gently crush and bruise to mix. Mix the grated coconut into the onion and spices, kneading firmly with your hands. Add the lime juice (adding the juice gradually to adjust the sourness accordingly to taste). Season with salt to taste, if required (the Maldive fish is very salty). Set aside in a bowl, allowing the flavours to marinate.

TIP: Coconut Opening Technique

Open the coconut using the back of a heavy meat clever, whacking it around its circumference until a crack forms. Once it is almost broken apart, water will begin to leak out. Give it a couple more hits until it opens up - have faith, it’ll open! Pour out water and clean out residual husk. Using a coconut scraper, grate fresh coconut into a bowl. If you don’t own a coconut scraper, frozen fresh grated coconut can be found in Sri Lankan or Indian grocers.

If you’re unable to open the coconut or do not have a coconut scraper, add 50ml iced water to 100g desiccated coconut. Stir through and leave to soak until the desiccated coconut is well hydrated and the liquid is all soaked up.