Scottish cosmopolitan recipes – Kedgeree
The cuisine of Scotland is steeped in the history of cooking from the natural larder at the people’s disposal. Whether this be kings and queens feasting on venison, duck, beef and salmon; or the servant living on oats and kale the Scots have always used well that which is at their disposal. However running through the food of Scotland are flavours from far-flung lands brought here by friend and foe alike. One such dish is kedgeree. Legend has it that a Scottish regiment brought back curry spices from the Indian sub-continent in the time of the British Raj and this was the result of tinkering with a dish seen there at the time. There is probably an element of truth in this, how much truth probably depends on your desire for casting a wistfully romantic eye to the past.
What is true is that all over the sub-continent you will find a dish with many regional variations of rice, daals and spice, but never fish, called khitchri. With this in mind I decided that I wanted to make a spice blend that would perfectly marry the sweet smokiness of the haddock in kedgeree with an authentic south Asian flavour. Far removed from the generic curry powder of many a kedgeree recipe. Sumayya Jamil of pukkapaki.com gave great assistance guiding me towards cumin, coriander and chilli as a simple spice blend that the haddock would accentuate but not drown in. I also added a little turmeric as I like the colour it gives the dish and opted for Kashmiri chilli, again because of the wonderful colour it gives when cooking and the aroma that it fills the kitchen with.
Kedgeree
Print recipe
| Serves | 2 |
| Prep time | 5 minutes |
| Cook time | 20 minutes |
| Total time | 25 minutes |
| By author | Graeme Taylor |
Ingredients
- 1 Fillet undyed smoked haddock (preferably peat smoked)
- 350ml Cold water
- 1 Onion (finely chopped)
- 1 knob Butter
- 150g Basmati rice
- 2.5 teaspoons Masala
- 2 Eggs
Masala
- 2 teaspoons Cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoons Coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon Ground Kashmiri chilli
- 0.5 teaspoon Turmeric powder
Note
Traditionally hard boiled eggs are added but I prefer to see the yolk of the poached egg run into the smoky goodness below.
Directions
| To make the masala grind the cumin and coriander seeds and mix with the chilli and turmeric. | |
| In a pan big enough to lay flat place the haddock, cover with the water, cover the pan and bring to a simmer for 4 minutes. Remove the fish and set aside. Pour the 'stock' into a jug and reserve. | |
| In the same pan add the butter and over a low heat sweat the onion for 3-4 minutes being careful not to brown. Add the masala and cook through for a minute. | |
| Add the rice, stir gently to coat some of the rice with spice and then pour over the liquor. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 minutes until the rice is tender and the liquid evaporated. | |
| When there is three minutes cooking time left for the rice poach the two eggs in a pan of salted water. | |
| When the rice is cooked break in the haddock, stir through and serve in warmed bowls with the egg on top. | |
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I had no idea of the history but just love this dish. I also really Hugh FW’s vedgeree version which can be found in his Veg book, worth a try if you haven’t already done so.
Thanks for the mention and glad u enjoyed the spice blend. Love this post shall be making it next week x