Kedgeree (British Curried Rice With Smoked Fish) Recipe

It may be onerous to make sense of kedgeree at first. Most will initially detect the distinct aroma and golden look of the curry-flavored rice. Then they might take barely puzzled word of the plump morsels of cold-smoked haddock flaked into it. And are these…boiled eggs?! Effectively, that is what you get when civilizations collide, as they did for hundreds of years in British India. It is a mixture of components and flavors which may be onerous to think about for many who’ve by no means tried it, however the outcomes are pleasant. The dish is smoky and warmly spiced, with a richness and heartiness from the eggs that makes it a satisfying breakfast, because it’s historically eaten, or actually a strong one-pot meal at any time of day.

Whereas it is usually related to Scottish cooking, kedgeree’s precise path from the Indian subcontinent to British tables is not documented nicely sufficient to say with certainty that it’s completely the creation of Scottish colonists. What does appear clear is that kedgeree is impressed by the South Asian lentil-and-rice dish khichdi, although kedgeree does not even faux to be an try at a trustworthy copy of that dish. British colonists, having developed an curiosity in among the spices of Indian cooking and among the dishes they ate whereas there, took the tough thought—rice, spices, generally fish—and spun it up right into a considerably completely different, distinctly British creation.

The Fish

Whereas kedgeree is a rice dish above all else, let’s speak first concerning the fish, as a result of that is the ingredient many outdoors the UK could have hassle getting their arms on. This is not my first journey with finnan haddie, because the Scottish name smoked haddock—I did a great deal of testing on each store-bought merchandise and a home-smoked substitute after I developed a recipe for cullen skink, the Scottish smoked haddock chowder.

On the time, I decided that the finnan haddie from Stonington Seafood in Maine was the perfect model obtainable stateside. It is a superb product, and, when you can plan sufficient upfront, very a lot price ordering. Since many people do not at all times have the wherewithal or want to order a specialty merchandise simply to cook dinner one dish, my recipe for cullen skink provided a comparatively fast home-smoked model (not that home-smoking fish is simpler, per se, however that is Critical Eats for you). I suppose you may comply with these DIY smoking directions for this recipe, however I frankly do not suppose it is price it. For cullen skink, the place the flavour of smoked haddock defines the dish, really having smoked haddock within the bowl makes some sense. However right here, the place we’ve a number of different flavorful elements like curried rice, boiled eggs, and buttery sautéed onions, the haddock is a vital, however, I would argue, substitutable ingredient.

I’ve made kedgeree with smoked haddock, and it is nice. I’ve additionally made it with smoked trout and smoked black cod and—guess what!—barely completely different, additionally nice. In a single small Scottish recipe e book I carry on my bookshelf, printed by the UK-based Jarrold Publishing, the kedgeree recipe requires cooked salmon that is not even smoked, whereas my 1956 copy of Elizabeth Craig’s basic The Scottish Cookery Book requires contemporary or smoked haddock or tinned salmon, so substitutions for the fish occur even within the birthplace of the dish.

I ought to word that I’ve stored the curry taste on the average aspect, which permits the flavour of the smoked fish to shine, supported by the spices however not drowned out by them. As with the fish, the spices differ considerably in older recipes—Craig’s recipe provides curry powder merely as a variation on her main one, which has little greater than cayenne pepper and nutmeg to season the rice, so there’s hardly a “proper” method.

The Technique

The fundamentals of the recipe go one thing like this: fry a liberal quantity of onions in butter, add the spices—sometimes some sort of curry powder like garam masala, perhaps a number of cardamom pods, maybe some saffron or a pinch of chile powder—chuck in a bay leaf together with the rice, then add liquid, cowl, and cook dinner the rice. When it is accomplished, fold within the cooked flakes of smoked fish and chopped parsley, garnish with boiled eggs, and serve with some lemon wedges on the aspect.

Or, at the very least, that is how my recipe and lots of others roughly go. However I’ve seen loads of alternate paths. Some recipes name for already-cooked rice to be folded with the seasonings proper earlier than serving. That sounds straightforward, and could also be a great way to make use of up leftovers, however you are not going to get the identical stage of taste infused into every grain of rice, nor are you more likely to taste the rice evenly, as you do while you cook dinner the rice with its seasonings.

I’ve seen different recipes that, as a substitute of manufacturing fluffy and separate grains of rice, construct a lavishly wealthy and creamy dish way more like a risotto. I am going to admit, that is very interesting to me, and, at the very least based mostly on some sources I’ve learn, is presumably an older model fashionable within the Victorian period that is considerably fallen out of favor. Most recipes right now lean to the dry-and-fluffy aspect, which I believe is the extra frequent expectation right now, so that is what I’ve accomplished right here. There’s quite a bit to love about this model—it has a lightness and delicacy that makes it the sort of dish I might fortunately eat ceaselessly (that mentioned, I will not be ready to withstand cooking a creamy model for myself at house quickly simply to expertise the decadent aspect of kedgeree).

The Rice

Any long-grain rice can work in kedgeree, although I believe basmati is a very good selection, given its South Asian roots and in addition the need for fluffy, separate grains, which basmati is especially nicely suited to, due to its specific starch makeup (extra dry-cooking amylose, much less gluey amylopectin).

There are two key methods past the rice choice itself that guarantee fluffy rice. The primary is to rinse the rice nicely in a number of modifications of water. This washes off powdery floor starches that construct up on the rice throughout processing and transit within the bag; when left on the rice, these floor starches type a starchy slurry that may improve clumping.

The opposite is to toast the rice in oil for a couple of minutes earlier than including the liquid. Excessive warmth deactivates the thickening capability of starch, decreasing the possibilities of gummy rice (this phenomenon can be why a deeply toasted dark roux thickens less well than a light one).

When all these disparate bedfellows come collectively—aromatic rice, advanced South Asian spices, buttery onions, Scottish smoked fish, and eggs—it manages to make excellent sense.