Smoked Haddock or Snoek Kedgeree

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup (180 ml) uncooked organic brown basmati rice
• filtered water
• ½ tsp (2 ml) herbal salt
• 2 organic or free-range eggs
• 300 g undyed smoked haddock fillets
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsps (30 ml) olive oil
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tsps (10 ml) curry powder* (opt for non-irradiated spices)
• 2 tsps (10 ml) mustard seeds (optional)
• 100 g frozen peas
• 1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• juice of 1 lemon
• freshly ground black pepper and unrefined salt
• 2/3 – 1 cup (160 – 250 ml) organic plain low fat or full cream yoghurt
• a handful of freshly chopped organic coriander leaves

Method:

1. Cook the rice according to instructions on pack – add the herbal salt to the water.
2. Meanwhile, boil the eggs for 10 minutes and set aside.
3. Poach the haddock and bay leaves in a covered pot of simmering water for 4 to 6 minutes until the fish flakes easily. Remove, leave to cool. Remove skins and flake, picking out the bones.
4. Add the oil to a large saucepan and sweat the onion for a few minutes before adding the garlic and spices. Gently fry for a couple of minutes until the onions are soft and fragrant, taking care not to burn the spices.
5. Stir the cooked rice into the spices until evenly coated, then add the peas and chilli and cook until the peas are tender.
6. Fold in the flaked fish and yoghurt and heat up for a few minutes. Add the lemon juice and season to taste.
7. Remove from heat and spoon into serving bowls.
8. De-shell and quarter the eggs. Arrange these on top and sprinkle with the coriander leaves just before serving.

Notes:

• Try it South African style: add 2 bruised caradamom pods and a cinnamon stick to the rice, replace the haddock and bay leaves with 300 g ready-cooked deboned smoked snoek (may contain sugar), replace curry powder with garam masala curry powder. Soak 4 dates and 50 g dried unsulphured peaches in hot water for 15 minutes, purée and add in step 5. Replace lemon juice with 4 tsps apple cider vinegar (unsulphured and preferably organic).
• Malt might be added to some apple cider vinegars, thus not gluten-free. When in doubt, contact the manufacturer and opt for lemon juice instead. Stabilisers in yoghurt may be derived from wheat or gluten so once again, check with the manufacturer.
• *If using ready-made curry spices, use a 100% pure blend that doesn’t contain any cereal fillers as it may contain wheat or gluten-related ingredients, or create your own mix using ½ tsp each of ground turmeric, coriander, cumin and chilli powder.