Basa Fish Curry and Rice

This curry works with any type of white fish. The reason for the bananas in it is that this is a recipe from several years ago at a time when we needed to use up lots of bananas - but you don't actually need the bananas in it. I keep losing this recipe - hence putting in on the blog will help to solve that problem once and for all hopefully!

Ingredients: (serves 4 adults)

Frozen Basa fish fillets (4 fillets)

1 tsp Ginger (I peel and keep a piece of ginger in the freezer and grate what I need – you can also get dried ginger powder)

2 cloves garlic

3 tsp Madras Paste 

240g Rice (60g per person)

Rapeseed oil

Tin of Coconut milk 

Curry leaves (we had some of these in the freezer – if you buy some fresh at an ethnic food store, you can wash and freeze the leaves, otherwise dried leaves are available in supermarkets in the herbs and spices aisle).

Fresh coriander

1 banana sliced

A handful of sulatanas (optional)

Method:

1. Defrost the fish according to pack instructions (2-3 hours at room temperature). For the last 45 minutes of defrosting time, I placed the fish in a marinade of 1 tsp madras paste combined with 1 clove crushed garlic, some grated ginger (around 1 tsp) and a little oil. It is more of a paste to coat the fish rather than a full marinade to soak in.

2. Once the fish has been marinated and is defrosted, heat some oil in a frying pan. Add the curry leaves to the hot oil. Then add 1 clove finely chopped garlic, 1 teaspoon grated frozen ginger, 2 tsp madras paste, and a splash of water (this helps boil off any vinegar in the madras paste which is used as a preservative in the paste).

The great thing about pastes like these are that you can keep them in the store cupboard and once opened they can last for up to 6 months in the fridge and can be used for so many things including meat rubs, on the barbecue, as well as traditional curry sauces.

3. Then add the coconut milk. Simmer until it turns a yellow colour and reduces a little.

Chop the coriander and then wash it. Top tip: chopping herbs dry makes it easier! I always use scissors too as that helps make it easier. Then add the coriander to the curry sauce.

4. In another pan, fry the banana in a little oil until browned. Then remove from the pan and fry the fish for a few minutes on each side. You won’t need any added oil as the marinade contains the oil you need.

5. Cook the rice according to pack instructions. I usually cook rice in the microwave by washing it, covering it to around 1-2 cm above the rice with boiling water. Add a little rapeseed oil. Then cook on full power for around 20 minutes. To serve the rice, place a portion into a cup and push down, then turn out onto plate like a sandcastle. Looks restaurant smart that way!

6. Then serve the curry sauce in a separate shallow bowl with a fillet of fish placed in each bowl along with some of the banana and a few sultanas if desired. As strange as it sounds, the banana really worked in this curry!