haddock korma with jasmine rice.

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♥ two skinless haddock fillets

♥ two heaped tablespoons korma paste
♥ half a tin of 400ml tin low fat coconut milk
♥ a handful of chopped spring onions
♥ a few sprigs of fresh coriander, chopped stalks and all
♥ black peppercorns
♥ one small fresh red chilli, finely sliced
♥ one lemon cut into wedges
♥ basmati rice

white fish is a great, versatile base for any meal. but why just have it in batter? adding it to a curry or dishes with strong flavours is a tasty way to get your healthy omega oils, even for those who don't have a passion for poisson. this is also a yummy south east asian inspired dish that doesn't require having too much of an extensive spice collection.

start by rubbing half the korma paste and some black peppercorns into the fish fillets. leave this to really soak in for a couple of minutes whilst you follow the rice instructions and turn up the heat to get the pan nice and hot. then turn it down to a medium heat ready to go.

next add a dash of olive oil to the pan and place in the haddock steaks. the temperature should make the outer skin sizzle and lock in the korma paste coating. add the rest of the korma paste to spread on parts of the fillet where you see more of the white of the fish. after around 5 minutes, turn the fish and cook for a further 5.

turn the heat back up and throw in the sliced spring onions, chilli and coriander, followed by stirring in the coconut milk and a squeeze of lemon.

keep some of the chillis or herbs back if you wish to sprinkle these on afterwards. note, if you do this, the uncooked fresh chillis will be hot hot hot.

the rice should be done by now so give it a good stir and skim a fork round the sides of the pan whilst fluffing it up.

to best serve the fish, i laid the fillets on a plate with a portion of rice before pouring over the sauce as required. then making it look pretty.

this can be made similarly with cod, coley, pollack or monkfish. oh any another thing, with white fish you chose, be sure to look out for the sustainable labelling on any you buy.

for dessert, why not try making ras malai, a traditional indian dessert. :)

ras malai.

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♥ 200g paneer cheese

♥ one pint of full fat milk

♥ 200ml of double cream

♥ 150g caster sugar

♥ a quarter of a teaspoon ground cardamom

♥ one teaspoon flaked or chopped almonds
♥ a pinch of paprika

♥ two teaspoons chopped pistachios, around fifteen nuts.

this is a traditional indian dessert which is totally easy to make and sure to wow.

interestingly, the original recipe which worked for me suggested using ricotta, which i tweaked myself and used a pre-made block of paneer cheese.

i then realised the reason that many opt for soft ricotta or making their own fresh - the cheese really is in a block, almost with a blue tack haloumi consistency. i overcame this by simply boiling the block of cheese in water for a few minutes to soften it up. a tip which i would recommend for anyone, especially due to the next element of the recipe. unless of course, you are popeye himself.

preheat the oven to gas mark 4, 180 degrees.

next, use a blender, i used handheld, to get the paneer into a cottage cheese like form, adding 50g of the sugar as you go. this actually makes a gorgeous smelling sweet mixture which with only two components is hard to believe that they make a biscuit when cooked.

scoop the mixture into a cake tray and bake for around thirty minutes. it should make roughly twelve. i insist you check these regularly as when they reach a golden brown it only takes seconds for them to unknowingly burn underneath.

while the cheese biscuits bake, pour the milk and cream into a saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat; simmer ten minutes. stir the remaining 100g sugar, cardamom, and paprika into the milk mixture and simmer another couple of minutes.

remove from heat and allow to the sauce to cool completely. similarly, allow the biscuits to cool for around ten minutes before getting them out of the tray.

drizzle the cooled mixture over the cheese dumplings and sprinkle the almonds and pistachios to serve.

or if you want to try this indian delight without having to do the washing up, try it here at one of my favourite indian restaurants, tamatanga.