Keralan Fish Curry with Coconut and Curry Leaves

Ingredients

• 700g firm white fish fillets (such as cod, haddock or pollock), skinless, cut into large chunks
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 20 fresh curry leaves
• 2 dried red chillies
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 30g fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1 green chilli, finely sliced
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1½ tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 3 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1½ tbsp tamarind paste
• 400ml coconut milk
• 150ml water
• 100g baby spinach
• 1 courgette, cut into half-moons
• 300g jasmine rice, cooked to packet instructions, to serve
• 4 tbsp natural yoghurt, to serve
• 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve
• fresh coriander, leaves and fine stems picked, to serve
• extra fresh curry leaves, to finish

Method

1. Start the jasmine rice according to packet instructions so it is ready when the curry is done.
2. Heat the coconut oil in a wide, deep sauté pan over a medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds and curry leaves and fry for 30 seconds until the seeds pop and the leaves crackle — that crackle is the oil taking on the curry-leaf perfume.
3. Add the dried red chillies and sliced onion and cook for 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and lightly golden at the edges.
4. Stir in the garlic, ginger and green chilli and cook for 1 minute, just until fragrant. No more — burnt garlic turns the whole curry bitter, so watch it.
5. Add the turmeric, ground coriander and Kashmiri chilli powder and bloom them in the oil for 45 seconds, stirring constantly, until they smell toasted and nutty. Raw spices taste dusty; bloomed spices taste of themselves.
6. Add the chopped tomatoes and a generous pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes, pressing them down with the back of a spoon, until they break down and the oil begins to separate at the edges of the pan.
7. Stir in the red lentils, tamarind paste, coconut milk and water — the coconut milk is what carries the tomato and tamarind into a silky broth rather than a sharp one. Season well, bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils have collapsed and the broth has thickened.
8. Add the courgette half-moons and simmer for 3 minutes until just tender but still holding their shape.
9. Season the fish chunks lightly with salt, then lower them gently into the broth and simmer for 5 minutes, spooning sauce over the top, until the fish is opaque and flakes easily when pressed.
10. Stir through the baby spinach and cook for 1 minute until just wilted. Taste the broth — adjust salt and tamarind now, not at the table. It should sing of coconut, sour fruit and warm spice.
11. Spoon the curry over the jasmine rice, add a cool spoonful of natural yoghurt alongside, scatter over the coriander leaves and a few extra curry leaves, and finish each bowl with a squeeze of lime over the top.