Recipe: Kedgeree- A Parsi Version

by Farokh Talati February 19, 2023

by Farokh Talati February 19, 2023 182 views

Serves 6–8

I have fond memories of cooking kedgeree at St John Bread and Wine. An Anglo-Indian dish of boiled rice, eggs and smoked haddock tumbled together. The aromas of steaming basmati rice subtly spiked with cinnamon, cardamom and cloves and of haddock fillets poaching in a milky bath tinted orange from saffron all created smells that punctuated the restaurant in the early morning as we prepared to delight our lunchtime punters. I’ve put together this version with a hint of Parsi flair.

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2 large red onions, thickly sliced
1 litre whole milk, plus extra if needed
2 bay leaves
a generous pinch of saffron
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
3 fillets of naturally smoked, skin-on, undyed haddock (about 800g total weight)
6 servings of boiled basmati rice
12 eggs, boiled for 7 minutes, then peeled and halved
juice of 1 large lemon
a handful of coriander, leaves picked and chopped
a handful of fenugreek, leaves picked and chopped
sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

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1. Begin by frying your two sliced onions in ghee or butter in a large frying pan on a medium to high heat, constantly moving them until they are dark golden and crisping at the edges.

2. Pour the milk into a large saucepan and add the bay leaves, saffron and turmeric. Place over a medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer.

3. Meanwhile, cut the haddock into pieces small enough to fit in the pan.

4. Reduce the heat under the pan to low and add the haddock. If the pieces are not fully submerged, top up with more milk. Gently simmer the haddock for 2 minutes, or until the flesh turns from translucent to opaque and shows the first signs of giving.

5. Leaving the milk on the heat, use a slotted spoon to remove the fish to a plate, skin side up, to cool. When cool enough to handle, peel away the skin.

6. Pour the milk into a heatproof jug and tip the cooked rice straight into the same pan. Spoon the milk back into the pan, little by little, stirring it through after each addition, until the rice is damp, but not soupy.

6. Place the boiled eggs, onions and haddock into the pan, and place it over a low heat. Put a lid on the pan and leave for about 5 minutes until everything is piping hot, removing the lid to fold and tumble the ingredients together every minute. Take care to be gentle – you want the fish pieces to stay as whole as possible. If the kedgeree becomes dry or catches on the bottom of the pan at any point, add a few more splashes of the reserved milk and lower the heat a little more if possible.

7. Once the kedgeree is piping hot, fold in the lemon juice, and season with plenty of freshly ground black pepper, and enough sea salt flakes to bring out the flavours. Finally, throw in a few fistfuls of chopped coriander and fenugreek leaves, and give everything one last fold.