Every now and again we need to do something different with our meals to turn the ordinary into something different – to liven up our food and, therefore, our lives. Fish doesn’t need too much because just cooked fish spritzed with fresh lemon and good olive oil can rarely be improved upon. Be that as it may, spices change tired old recipes or create new ones to change how you and your family feel about daily meals. Today we do exactly that with fish – for this recipe use any firm, whitish fish – cut into fillets or cubed. If you don’t have all the spices listed here, take what you have and  improvise!

Ingredients

• 4 x 225 g fish fillets
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp hot ground chillies
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 100 g butter
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 tsp light brown soft sugar
• 200 g tinned, chopped tomatoes
• 1 lemon, grated zest and juice
• 400 ml tinned coconut milk
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Grind the whole spices finely in a blender and combine with the chillies and turmeric.
• Heat the oil and butter in large heavy bottomed saucepan, add the onion and fry until translucent, then add the garlic, the ginger, the zest, the sugar and the spice mix and cook for a few minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, the lemon juice, the coconut milk, the bay leaves and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper –  simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened.
• To this, add the fish fillets, skin-side down and spoon over the sauce over them.
• Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes only – halfway through the cooking process, flip the fish over.
• Remove the baby leaves before serving and serve with yellow rice.
• 6. For the pilau, wash the rice in several changes of cold water until the water runs relatively clear. Cover with more cold water and leave to soak for seven minutes, then drain well.

YELLOW RICE

Ingredients

• 500 ml long-grained rice
• 600 ml water
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 5 whole cloves
• 1 x 4 cm cinnamon stick
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 star anise
• handful of seedless raisins

Method

• Place the rice in a bowl and wash in several changes of water until the water is no longer cloudy, drain.
• Pour a litre of fresh water over the rice and allow it to soak for half an hour, drain the rice in a sieve.
• Combine the drained rice, the salt, the raisins and the spices in a heavy pot and bring to a boil.
• Cover with a tight-fitting lid and turn the heat down very low, allow it to simmer for 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let the pot rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
• Remove the whole spices and fluff the rice with a fork before serving.