Fish Curry with Cumin Rice

This dish is a perfect showcase of the Cape Malay style, with its full-bodied medley of Southeast Asian aromatics such as ginger, cumin seeds and coconut milk. We’ve used fish as the Cape Malay culture is closely tied to the sea. ServeS 6

4 x 150g hake fillets, skin on 3 T flour

5 T oil

1 onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 5cm knob ginger, sliced 1 chilli, finely sliced

1t cumin seeds

1t fennel seeds

1 T turmeric

1T leaf masala

1 can (400ml) coconut milk 3 dates, soaked in ½ cup

boiling water

1 bay leaf

¼ cup fresh coriander Salt and pepper

For the rice:

1 onion, finely chopped 3 T oil

2 t cumin seeds 2t mustard seeds 2t ground cumin

1 t chilli flakes

⅓ cup curry leaves 2 sticks cinnamon

1 T butter

3 cups cooked rice

For serving: 1 red chilli, thinly sliced

1 Lightly dredge fish fillets in flour. Heat oil in a pan and sear the fish until the skin is crisp.

2 Remove the fish, add the onion to the pan and fry until golden. 3 Add garlic, ginger and chilli and fry until fragrant.

4 Add in the spices (and 2 tablespoons of water, if you like, to ensure they don’t burn).

5 Pour in coconut milk, dates (with soaking liquid), bay leaf

and coriander and bring to the boil for 5 minutes. 6 Reduce heat to medium and gently place the fish back in the curry. Simmer for 10 minutes. 7 For the rice, fry onion on a low heat until caramelised. 8 Add spices and fry for a minute. 9 Add the butter and let it melt into the spiced onion mixture. 10 Add rice and stir until everything is combined. 11 Season curry to taste and garnish with chilli. Serve curry with rice, lemon wedges and crisp poppadoms.