Smoked Haddock Kedgeree by Mark Hix
Prep: 20 min - Cooking Time: 45min
Serves: 6-8
The Hindi dish of Khichri has come a long way. The breakfast dish we know today was developed by the British in India, but would be unrecognisable as the Indian original. It was a good way to use up fish and rice, but in the wrong hands, as everyone knows, leftovers can become a bowl of slop.
Smoked Finnan haddock makes the best kedgeree by far. The smokiness travels through the sauce and rice to give that delicious savoury flavour. Don't be tempted to buy bright yellow, dyed haddock fillet: no smoke on this earth has ever been known to produce that colour. Do though, if you fancy, replace a little haddock with salmon fillet, as this makes a good contrast of texture and taste. A few prawns thrown in makes a luxurious addition.
Ingredients
- 150g basmati rice
- 350g natural smoked haddock fillet, lightly poached
- 3 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled and chopped
For The Sauce
- 30g butter
- 2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
- A small piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 1/2tsp turmeric
- 1/2tsp ground cumin
- 1/2tsp curry powder
- 1/2tsp fennel seeds
- A few curry leaves
- A pinch of saffron threads
- 100ml fish stock (a good cube will do)
- 200ml double cream
- 1tbsp chopped parsley
- Salt and pepper
Salt and pepper to season
Method
First, make the curry sauce. Melt the butter in a thick-bottomed pan and gently cook the shallots, garlic and ginger without colouring. Add all the spices and cook for another minute to release the flavours. Add the fish stock, bring to the boil and allow to reduce by half. Pour in the cream and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Blend the sauce in a liquidiser until smooth and strain through a fine-meshed sieve. Check the seasoning
Wash the rice a couple times in cold water to remove starch then cook it in plenty of boiling, salted water for about 12-15 minutes until it's just cooked. Briefly drain in a colander and return to a pan off the heat with a lid on. This allows the rice to steam dry and gives it a fluffy. light texture.
To serve the kedgeree, reheat the curry sauce and add the cooked smoked haddock and parsley. Put the rice into a bowl, spoon over the fish and sauce, then scatter over the egg.
