Servings: 4

Rice: subheading: Rice:
1 cup basmati rice 1 cup basmati rice
1 ½ cups cold water 1 ½ cups cold water
 
Fish Curry: subheading: Fish Curry:
1 tbsp coconut oil 1 tbsp coconut oil
½ red onion, finely diced ½ red onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed 4 cloves garlic, crushed
1cm ginger, finely diced 1cm ginger, finely diced
2 sprigs fresh curry leaves 2 sprigs fresh curry leaves
1 pandan leaf, roughly chopped into 4 pieces 1 pandan leaf, roughly chopped into 4 pieces
2cm fresh turmeric, finely grated 2cm fresh turmeric, finely grated
3 bird’s eye chillies, thinly sliced 3 bird’s eye chillies, thinly sliced
1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds 1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp freshly ground pepper 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
seeds from 1 cardamom pod seeds from 1 cardamom pod
1 clove 1 clove
1 tsp hot chilli powder 1 tsp hot chilli powder
150g chopped cherry tomatoes 150g chopped cherry tomatoes
1 cup fish stock 1 cup fish stock
40g coconut milk powder 40g coconut milk powder
250ml water 250ml water
1 lime, juiced 1 lime, juiced
500g Murray Cod, skin on, cut into large chunks 500g Murray Cod, skin on, cut into large chunks
salt and pepper, to taste salt and pepper, to taste
 
Coconut Sambal: subheading: Coconut Sambal:
cup desiccated coconut cup desiccated coconut
½ red onion, roughly chopped ½ red onion, roughly chopped
bird’s eye chillies bird’s eye chillies
1 tbsp chilli powder 1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp Maldive fish chips 1 tbsp Maldive fish chips
2 tsp paprika 2 tsp paprika
1 tsp pepper 1 tsp pepper
salt and lime juice, to taste salt and lime juice, to taste
 
Deep Fried Curry Leaves: subheading: Deep Fried Curry Leaves:
2 sprigs fresh curry leaves 2 sprigs fresh curry leaves
1 cup vegetable oil, for frying 1 cup vegetable oil, for frying
fresh coriander and lime wedges, to serve fresh coriander and lime wedges, to serve

For the Rice, place rice in a sieve and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clean. Place into a small saucepan with the water, cover and place over medium heat. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside until ready to serve. Do not remove lid. Fluff rice with a fork when ready to serve.
For the Fish Curry, place the coconut oil and onions into a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook for 4 to 5 minutes to soften slightly.
Add garlic, ginger, curry leaves, pandan leaves, turmeric, chillies, cumin, fennel, pepper, cardamom seeds and clove. Cook for a few more minutes, then add in the hot chilli powder and tomatoes. Stir to combine and cook for a few more minutes until the tomatoes start to break down.
Add the fish stock and simmer for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the coconut milk powder with the water using a whisk, and then add to the pan.
Turn the heat to medium low and simmer sauce until thickened, about 10 minutes.
Add a squeeze of fresh lime and season with salt. Strain through a sieve into a clean saucepan and discard the solids.
Add the fish pieces to the sauce, ensuring they are submerged. Cover with a lid and simmer on a very low heat for 3 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow fish to poach in the residual heat, without lifting the lid, for 10 minutes. Set aside until ready to serve.
For the Coconut Sambal, combine half of the desiccated coconut and with the remaining ingredients and blend into a rough paste.
Place the paste in a bowl and add in the remaining desiccated coconut.
Thoroughly combine the mixture together using your hands until all the coconut is orange in colour.
Season with salt and a little lime juice, to taste.
For the Deep Fried Curry Leaves, heat oil in a deep medium saucepan to 160C. Add the curry leaves and fry for 5 seconds, taking care as the oil will splatter. Remove from the oil and set aside on paper towel.
To serve, place the fish curry into bowls and sprinkle with fresh coriander and deep fried curry leaves. Serve the rice, sambal and lime wedges on the side.