Monkfish tikka masala

  • medium
  • 4
  • 60 minutes
Not yet rated

Josh Eggleton evokes flavours of the nation's favourite curry in this delicious fish curry recipe, using meaty monkfish to stand up against the flavours of the rich spiced crust and aromatic chickpea and spinach tikka sauce. Josh steams his fragrant pilau rice in a steam oven, but you can easily steam or boil the rice on the hob, as in our how to cook rice guide.

First published in 2016

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Spiced monkfish

Tikka sauce

Equipment

  • Food processor
  • Steam oven or steamer

Method

1
Portion the monkfish tail into 4 pieces, about 130–150g each. Place all the spices for the monkfish in a plastic bowl or container and whisk in the oil, then add the fish portions and turn to coat fully in the spiced oil. Cover and refrigerate until ready to cook
2
Mix the rice, water, onion and spices together in a deep tray. Set a steam oven to 100°C and cook for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender and fragrant. Season to taste
3
Meanwhile, prepare the tikka sauce by adding the shallots, garlic, ginger, chilli and vegetable oil to a food processor and blitzing until smooth. Add the dry spices and tomato purée, then blitz again to make a paste
4
Transfer to a heavy-based pan and place over a medium-low heat to cook out for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for another 10 minutes, then stir in the chickpeas to warm through. Add the cream to the pan and cook for another minute
5
Stir in the spinach leaves until just wilted, then finish with the lemon juice and adjust the seasoning to taste. Keep warm until ready to serve
6
Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the spiced monkfish portions, allowing to sear for 2–3 minutes on the bottom until the spiced oil forms a dark crust. Carefully turn the pieces and sear on all sides for a few minutes until the spiced crust is coloured all over. Transfer to a warmed plate and cover, allowing the fish to rest for 5–10 minutes
7
To serve, divide the steamed rice and tikka sauce between serving plates. Once rested, slice the monkfish portions into even pieces and arrange them over the rice and sauce, garnishing with a few sprigs of coriander cress

It can take decades of dedication and dogged effort to win a Michelin star. Josh Eggleton, though, was ‘shocked’ to win his first Michelin star at the age of 27, after only a few years of being a Head Chef.

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