Roast tamarind-glazed kingfish and masala sauce

TV presenter and cookbook author Peter Kuruvita shares his showstopping roasted tamarind-glazed kingfish and masala sauce recipe. You can either glaze the fish with shop-bought tamarind chutney, or make your own, using Peter’s technique below.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Ace

Ingredients

• 4 x 180 g kingfish fillets, middle cut, skinless
• Store-bought or homemade tamarind chutney, for glazing (see Note)
• 4 rice paper sheets, deep fried, crushed
• Chilli salt, to serve (see Note)
• Micro coriander, to garnish

For the kingfish jus

• 25 ml gingili oil (Indian sesame oil, see Note)
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 75 g grated coconut
• 1 tsp brown mustard seeds
• ½ sprig curry leaves
• ½ tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 banana eschallots, finely chopped
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• ¼ tsp chilli powder
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 200 g tin crushed tomatoes (blended to a purée)
• 500 g kingfish collars
• Salt, to taste
• 100 g butter, to serve

For tempering

• 1 tbsp oil
• ½ tsp mustard seeds (rai)
• ¾ tsp urad dal (or black gram)
• A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• 8 - 10 curry leaves

For the green coconut chutney

• ¾ cup tightly packed coriander leaves
• ¾ cup grated coconut, fresh, frozen or rehydrated
• 1 long green chilli, chopped
• 2 cm x 3 cm piece ginger, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp roasted chana dal
• ½ tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt, to season

Instructions

1. Begin with the kingfish jus. Heat half of the gingli oil in a large frying saucepan, then add the onion and sauté for 10 minutes, or until browned. Add the grated coconut and cook for a further 5 minutes, until golden-brown. Transfer the mixture to a blender jug with 75 ml water and blend to a smooth paste. Set aside.
2. Return the pan to the heat with the remaining gingli oil. Add the mustard seeds and cook, stirring, until they pop. Add the curry leaves and fenugreek seeds to the pan and cook for 1 minute further, taking care not to burn the seeds. Add the eschallot to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes, followed by the remaining ground spices. Cook for a further 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until fragrant.
3. Add the crushed tomatoes and cook, stirring to scrape any spices that have accumulated on the base of the pan. Cook until the tomato dries out, then stir through the coconut onion mixture. Add the kingfish collars, then mix well, ensuring you continually scrape down the base of the pan to prevent the sauce from burning. Reduce to low heat and simmer until the sauce thickens. Season with a generous pinch of salt.
4. Once the kingfish collars are tender, strain the sauce through a medium chinois, pushing all the pulp through. Strain a second time through a fine chinois, season with salt and set aside. Just before serving, heat the strained sauce in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Whisk in the butter, until smooth and glossy.
5. To cook the fish, preheat the oven to 220˚C (200˚C fan-forced). Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Place the kingfish fillets on the tray and brush with tamarind chutney (see Note), then roast for 7 minutes, or until cooked through.
6. For the tempering, heat the oil in a small frying pan, then add the mustard seeds and urad dal. Cook until the mustard seeds splutter and the urad dal browns, then stir through the asafoetida and curry leaves, frying for a few seconds further. Remove from the heat.
7. To make the green coconut chutney, combine the ingredients in a high-speed blender and blitz until smooth (add a little water if needed to help break down the ingredients). Add the tempered ingredients (including the oil) to the chutney and blitz again until smooth. Taste and season with more salt, sugar or lemon juice to your liking.
8. To serve, ladle some kingfish jus onto a serving plate and top with the glazed fish. Sprinkle the fish with some crushed fried rice paper, then sprinkle with chill salt and micro coriander leaves. Serve with the green coconut chutney.
   

Note

• Do not substitute the gingli oil for Chinese sesame oil.
• This recipe used The One & Only brand of chilli salt.

For the tamarind chutney (makes 2 cups)

• 225 g tamarind pulp
• 75 g ghee
• ½ onion, finely chopped
• 15 g finely chopped garlic
• 15 g young ginger, finely chopped
• 325 g raw sugar
• ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
• 175 ml white vinegar
• 1 sprig fresh curry leaves, leaves picked
• 1 tbsp black mustard seeds

Soak the tamarind in 175 ml warm water for 5 minutes, then push through a fine sieve and discard any fibres. Heat half the ghee in a heavy-based saucepan over medium-low heat and cook the onion, garlic and ginger for 3–5 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Add the tamarind water, sugar, chilli flakes and vinegar and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring regularly, for 1 hour or until the mixture has reduced by about three-quarters and is thick and pulpy. Heat the remaining ghee in a small heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Add the curry leaves and mustard seeds and shake the pan until the mustard seeds begin to pop, then immediately pour the seed mixture into the tamarind mixture, cover and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, transfer to a bowl and cool. Season the chutney to taste with salt, then spoon it into a 500 ml capacity sterilised jar and seal. Tamarind chutney will keep for up to 1 year. Refrigerate after opening.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.