Indian Feast III

This week we will demonstrate how to prepare Goan-style fish, a spicy date chutney and a delicious, fragrant and creamy rice, enriched with home made ghee.

You will need

For the Goan fish:
1 sea bream
For the marinade:
Stalk of lemon grass
1 green chilli
2 thick slices of fresh galangal (or reheated dried galangal or paste)
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon of tamarind paste
1/4 teaspoon of ground black cardamom
Pinch of salt
Juice from half a lime
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
150g of coconut cream

For the rice:
225g basmati rice
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon of ground black cardamom
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of dried rose petals
2 teaspoons of ghee
Freshly ground pepper to taste Juice and zest of 1 lemon
Salt to taste
Juice and zest from 1/2 lemon

Date chutney:
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
200g medjool dates, roughly chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander
Pinch of chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon of tamarind
Juice of 1/2 lime

For the ghee:
250g butter

Serves 2:

Goan fish:

Preheat the oven to 200C
To make the marinade, just combine all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth
Score the fish and rub all over with the marinade and wrap in a banana leaf
Leave to marinate for 20 minutes at room temperature
Then bake
Twenty minutes in, take it out of the oven and remove the charred leaves on top, then put the dish back in the oven to finish cooking and colouring for another 10 minutes or so

For the chutney:

Fry onion in a small pan until golden
Add the chillies, cumin, coriander, chilli powder to cook for 1 minute
Add the dates, the sugar, tamarind and the juice of one lemon
Add 2 tablespoons of water, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the dates are really starting to soften and break down

Lemon Rice:

Wash the rice out under cold running water in a sieve
Soak in cold water for 30 minutes, drain thoroughly
Get a pan with a glug of oil going on a medium-high heat – add the onion and a pinch of salt
Once, golden brown, add the spices
Add the rice and throughly combine with the spices, add the rice petals
Add enough water that it comes up 1cm above the rice level
Bring to boil and then simmer for no more than 10 minutes until the rice is tender
Fluff up the rice with a fork and add the ghee, lemon zest and juice

For the ghee:

Melt unsalted butter in a pan until the milk solids (white) and the fat (pure yellow) have separated, bring to boil and cook for 8 minutes. Pour through a sieve lined with muslin into a jar, leave to cool and refrigerate