Spiced basmati rice
Slow cook your basmati in the style of a pilaf by steaming with spices for this Keralan-style Indian side dish
Lighter South Indian fish curry
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook:
- Easy
- Serves 4
Skip to ingredients
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 medium onionhalved lengthways and thinly sliced into wedges
- 3 garlic clovesfinely chopped
- 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger(about a 2.5cm/1in piece)
- 12 dried curry leaves
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 2 small green chillieshalved lengthways, deseeded (or leave a few seeds in if you want a bit of heat)
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp garam masala
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- 400g can reduced-fat coconut milk
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 500g skinned, firm white fishfillets, such as cod or haddock
- 100g fine green beanstrimmed and halved lengthways
- 1 ripe mango
- generous handful roughly chopped corianderleaves only
- 200g basmati ricecooked, to serve
- limewedges, to serve
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal447low
- fat11glow
- saturates6g
- carbs56g
- sugars15g
- fibre3g
- protein30g
- salt0.4g
Method
step 1
Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying or sauté pan. Add the cumin seeds and fry for 1 min, then tip in the onion, garlic and ginger, and fry for 1 min more. Stir in the curry leaves and mustard seeds, and fry about 3-4 mins on a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are turning brown. Stir in the chillies, coriander, garam masala and turmeric, and fry for 30 secs.
step 2
Stir the coconut milk in the can, then pour half into the pan. It should start to bubble and thicken, so let it simmer until quite thick, about 3 mins, stirring occasionally. Pour in the rest of the coconut milk, add the pepper and a pinch of salt, and lower the heat.
step 3
Sit the fish in the coconut milk and press it down to half submerge it. Cover the pan and simmer gently for 4-5 mins (depending on the thickness of your fillets) until the fish is almost cooked. Do not stir or the fish will break up – just spoon some of the sauce over the top of the fish halfway through, then remove the pan from the heat and let the fish sit for another 3-4 mins to finish cooking slowly. When done, it should feel firm and no longer be opaque. If you want a thinner sauce, pour in a spoonful or two of water.
step 4
Meanwhile, steam the green beans for about 4 mins until just tender. De-stone the mango and slice the flesh into thin wedges (see tip below left), then scatter over the fish to warm through.
step 5
To serve, break the fish into big chunks by removing it to serving bowls with a slotted spoon, then pour the sauce over and around it. Serve with the beans, a scattering of coriander and the rice, with lime wedges on the side to squeeze over.
