Masala Fried Fish & Dhal

I must admit I'm being lazy tonight after a long hard week and having traditional English fish & chips for dinner. So no South African curry tonight! But keeping on the theme of fish, I thought I will give you a recipe for Masala fried fish with rice and dhal. This is a Durban classic and definately one of my favourites meals.

For the fish, any firm white fish will do, in Durbs we tend to use Barracuda, but in the UK I use cod or haddock. Works just as well. Firstly begin by drying the fish with paper towel. This ensures the fish is as crispy as possible when fried and does not get soggy. Then marinade the fish in Durban chilli powder & salt. You could also make a batter using Durban chilli powder, salt and flour and then dipping the fish in this batter. Durban mixed chilli powder is unique and is a blend of various indian spices including cumin, turmeric, cinamon, coriander powder,paprika, hot pure chilli powder mixed with a medium chilli powder and a few other secret spices, I would guess cloves & cardamon. I guess you could try make it at home and experiment a bit, you can't go to far wrong. I still but mine in Durban each time I visit. Be generous with the chilli powder, because when the fish is fried it cooks the chilli and isn't as hot as you think it will be. For the rice I use a white long grain rice. White and fluffy. Now onto the dhal. Most Durbanites use yellow split pea lentils. You can get these from any indian supermarket, in the UK its even available in Sainsburys and Tesco now. You need to wash the split peas a few times. Then top the pan up with water and bring to the boil. While this is happening add 6 whole cloves of garlic and half a chopped tomatoe (large) or one small tomatoe. Add a level teaspoon of turmeric powder and salt to taste. Leave to boil for 40 minutes. Make sure it doesn't boil dry. Keep adding water if needed until the lentils are cooked fully and dissolving. The dhal should start to look like a soup. I use masher sometimes to mash the lentils down. Then fry 1 tbl mustard seeds, 1 chopped onion and a 75g of butter in a frying pan. Fry until the onions have turned a very dark bown. Don't be scared to leave it to darken, this creates the wonderful smoking flavour in the dhal. Once browned spoon the mixture into the dhal and mix thoroughly. You can add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end and garnish with a large handful of chopped coriander. You can now fry the fish in hot sunflower oil or vegetable oil in a large frying pan. The fish should take a few minutes on each side depending on the thickness of your fish. If your fish is battered ensure the batter is cooked through fully. You can also substitute fish cakes for the fish. We will look at how to make the fish cakes another day. Happy eating everyone!