Like a collection of gaudy heirlooms and brik-a-brak from a by-gone era, I have a hidden stash of yellowed and food speckled scraps of paper with recipes scrawled on them. Many of the recipes are tied to specific memories from my formative years, and though the aromas and flavors have long faded from my leaky memory, I still can't quite bring myself to toss them out.
This Kedgeree recipe is an exception in that I'm frantically rummaging through the bookshelf at least once a year to find it. I've memorized the recipe and all my alterations to it, but there's something unique about this photo-copied Australian magazine clipping that gives it a special place in my heart.
Its warm yellow and brown patina, imbued by over a decade of ketchup, curry, and oil, is a reminder of the first time I laid a fork into this beautiful pile of smoked fish and pillowy spiced rice. My heart beats a little faster when I hear the name "Kedgeree", and the recipe contained on this tattered piece of paper left an indelible mark on my taste memory. I guess you could say it was one of my first true loves.
Like its older sibling Chicken Tikka Masala and its Portuguese cousin, Lamb Vindaloo, Kedgeree is an Anglo-Indian love child, one of the few good things that came out of over two centuries of colonialism in India. Despite its common ancestry with the better known curry house staples, this one dish wonder seems to be largely unknown outside of the UK and Australia.
A hodgepodge of my favourite ingredients, Kedgeree is the zenith of what a good dish should be. It balances all five of the basic tastes, it's light yet deeply satisfying, and it has enough personality to leave a lasting impression. It's the kind of dish that has you going back for "one more bite" until suddenly you realize that you're pregger's with a food baby.
Perhaps its most beguiling quality is the leeway it gives you to improvise, using spices and smoked seafood that suits your palette and budget. Since I was making this batch for a Gujarati friend, I gave it the full spread of spices, but you would do just as well with curry powder, or perhaps an entirely different blend of spices from another region of the world.
What really set this particular Kedgeree apart though was an AMAZING side of smoked Bluefish from Acme Smoked Fish, one the last family run smoke houses in Brooklyn. The fish was melt-in your mouth tender, with just enough oil to keep things moist, but not enough to be greasy. The flavour tasted like they took a bowl of concentrated dashi, turned it back into a fish and then smoked it. One of these days, I'm going to have to grab my camera and take a field trip over the river to see just how they perform this small miracle.
📖 Recipe
Units
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups basmati rice
- 3 cups water
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seed
- 1 teaspoon cumin seed
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger grated
- 1 medium onion minced
- 1 medium serrano chili (leave the seeds in if you want it spicier)
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- ½ cups low sodium chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons cream
- 14 ounces hot-smoked fish like salmon, trout or bluefish
- 3 soft-boiled eggs peeled and chopped
- cilantro pomegranate seeds minced and for garnish
- lemon (wedges) for serving
Instructions
- Put the rice in a seive and wash with cold water. Add the water and rice into a heavy bottomed pot, cover, then bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until there is no water left (15-20 minutes). Turn the heat off and let the rice steam for an additional 10 minutes.
- Heat a large chef's pan, until very hot. Add the oil and swirl to coat. Add the mustard seed and cumin and fry until they start making a popping noise. Add the garlic and ginger and fry until fragrant. Add the onions, chili, garam masala and turmeric. Fry until the onions are soft and your kitchen is redolent with Indian spices.
- Add the ketchup and stock and boil until the mixture is thick and gluggy. Turn down the heat, then add the cream and smoked fish, breaking up the fish as you add it. Add the cooked rice and most of the chopped egg and stir it all together. Taste and add salt if needed.
- To serve, just spoon the kedgeree onto a plate and top with the remaining chopped egg as well as the minced cilantro and pomegranate seeds. Serve with a bowl of lemon wedges.
sarah [undefined says
i coincidently had all these ingrdients in my kitchen the other night when wondering what to cook, even fresh turmeric + some home cured trout [i think hot smoked fish would be better for next time!]. it was so quick + so satisfying, + reminded me of home on a freezing berlin evening. preggers with a food baby! how aussie is that? i love it! thanks for the inspiration yet again.
Ivy says
Never heard of Kedgeree before but love this colourful dish and it sounds wonderful.
Y says
That smoked fish sounds amazing. Kedegree looks pretty darn good too 🙂
ketapretorius says
This is a traditional South African recipe! Here we use smoked haddock which is found in all the supermarkets. We add peas instead of pomegranate, which gives amazing colour to the dish. A real winner!
The Rowdy Chowgirl says
I've wondered what Kedgeree was since I read an English novel in which the characters were having it for dinner...looks delicious and I think I'll have to give it a try!
The Rowdy Chowgirl says
I've wondered what Kedgeree was since I read an English novel in which the characters were having it for dinner...looks delicious and I think I'll have to give it a try!
Soos says
Please tell us what the glop of white and green sauce is in the last photo? Mahalo.
Marc Matsumoto says
It's a mint raita. I don't have a recipe but basically plain yogurt, black
mustard seeds, cumin, salt, garlic and minced mint.
Galactapug says
This recipe is amazing. I used curry powder from Penzy's instead of tumeric and garam masala. I'm sure with actual garam masala it would be slightly different but just as good. A true treasure.
JIWA says
Grew up on kedgeree. One of the few things my Mom could cook. This version is pretty good. We used kippers while in Canada. Couldn't find them readily when we moved to So CA. Her easy recipe was cooked rice, tuna, canned milk, hard boiled egg, curry powder, frozen green peas. blend milk and curry powder, then fold ingredients into the milk. Put in casserole and sprinkle with parmesan from a can combined with bread crumbs and bake. We thought it was pretty good until our Indian friends told us how awful. I now make an Indian version with white fish that is excellent.
Kathy Stroup says
I keep digging through your site and coming up with gems! What a wonderful post, full of sentiment and personal history. Of course, as an Anglophile this dish has lurked in the recesses of my brain for over forty years, but it never piqued my curiosity enough to seek a recipe. All of these ingredients reside in my pantry or are within easy reach. Even if I didn't muster an interest in trying this recipe, the post was well worth reading! But of course, your enthusiasm is contagious, so I will definitely give it a go!
Marc Matsumoto says
Another oldie!😄 The photos are embarrassing. This is one I'd remake, except I don't think I've ever seen hot smoked fish here.
Kathy Stroup says
You mean, there's a type of fish the Japanese DON'T eat?!?!🤔 Have you been to NISSIN World Delicatessen in Azabujuban? I'm actually strolling through the store right now on Google! I think I see cottage cheese! I definitely see ricotta. https://www.nissin-world-delicatessen.jp/ Not sure if they'd have hot smoked fish, but they sure have a lot of imported food!
I was planning to go down-market with this and use a can of Kippered Snacks. One of my guilty pleasures! I may just have to go and buy some nice, local, hot smoked fish, though, just to do your recipe justice!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hahaha! The only time I've seen hot smoked fish has been in the countryside at some random rest stop (the countryside has these rest stops that sell local ingredients and foods) and it was like $20 for a small 100 gram pack. I do see a lot of cold smoked salmon though so I think the issue is more that people just don't know there's a such thing as hot smoked fish. As for NISSIN, that used to be my go-to supermarket when I needed to buy American ingredients for recipes. These days I haven't been cooking much American food so it's been a few years since I've been. I don't think I've ever had Kippered Snacks before! I'll have to look for it when I'm Stateside!