EAST INDIAN SPICED COD WITH RICE AND SALSA
Serves 2
Ingredients:
200g red, brown or wild rice
2 cod fillets, approx 200g each
1tsp yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp medium or mild curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coconut oil
5 cloves garlic
Half an onion, roughly chopped
Half a vegetable stock cube
Salt and pepper
Handful fresh coriander
Half a cucumber
100g baby tomatoes
1 lime
Chilli flakes (if desired)
Method:
Soak the rice for 20mins in cold water then drain
Preheat the oven to 220˚C or fan 200˚C
Dry cook the mustard seeds for two minutes in a hot frying pan then grind with pestle and mortar
Melt the coconut oil in the empty pan, add the chopped onion, whole peeled garlic cloves, curry powder and turmeric powder and cook for five minutes until softened.
Put this, some salt and pepper and the ground mustard seeds in a processor or blender and whizz up to a paste. Add some water if it sticks to help it blend up.
Put the drained rice in a hot clean pan and dry fry for one minute. Add 300ml boiling water and the crumbled stock cube. Simmer for 20mins if using brown or red rice or 10-15 mins for wild rice, until the rice is cooked and the water absorbed. Add more water if needed during the cooking process if you think it’s needed.
Meanwhile, cover a baking tray with baking paper. Coat one side of the fish with half the spice paste, place it paste down on the baking paper then coat the top of the fillets with the remaining paste. Cover loosely with another piece of baking paper and into the oven for 8-10 minutes until fish looks done. Take off the top sheet of baking paper and cook for another minute or so until paste looks darker
While rice and fish cook, finely dice cucumber and chop tomatoes small, chop coriander and mix these up in a bowl. Add grated zest and juice of the lime and add chilli flakes, if desired (I highly recommend it).
Serve rice with fish broken up loosely into flakes on top. Any spice paste that has slipped off the fish in cooking can be drizzled over and salsa on the side.
This is a great filling and flavoursome meal, well worth the effort and very healthy, low fat, low sugar.
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