Spiced Fish Oven-baked in the Cape Malay Style
An exquisite aromatic combination of herbs and spices fuse together to produce the delicious curried sauce that is the flavour base for our oven-baked fish dish. In just over an hour this tasteful and easy-to-make recipe will have any lucky diners singing your praises.
Cape Malay Food
Cape Malay is a food cuisine that developed within the Western Cape of South Africa. Its origins are said to lie with recipes introduced by 16th-century slaves and exiles brought from Asia and other areas of Africa. A food known for its sweet and sour spiciness. Mixing flavours from various sweet dried fruits with aromatic, full-bodied spices such as coriander, cumin, ginger and mustard seed.
Is Pickled Fish Curry Healthy?
Yes, yes and yes again! Fish, in general, boosts the human body with vitamins and minerals such as iron, zinc, magnesium and potassium. It is also a great source of protein and Omega-3 fatty acids. The American Heart Association recommends eating fish twice per week. Then we have a surplus of health benefits presented by the various spices added. To name a few, turmeric is a potent anti-inflammatory, coriander seed that promotes good cholesterol and ginger whose anti-bacterial properties help the body fight germs.
To opitmise on health benefits, you can leave out the little bit of flour used and (yes, you know what is coming), dont add the sugar.
Cape Malay Pickled Fish Curry
Ingredients
- 1 kg Fresh Hake or Yellowtail (any firm fish will do)
- 2 large Onions sliced in to rings
- 5 cloves Garlic chopped
- 375 ml White Vinegar
- 250 ml Water
- 375 g Sugar (sweetener to taste, optional)
- 10 whole Coriander seeds
- 2 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1 tbsp Masala (use Fish Masala if you can)
- 5 ml Turnmeric
- 4 whole Bay Leaves
- 8 whole Peppercorns
- 5 ml Salt
- 1-4 tbsp Flour for sprinkling on the fish before you fry it lightly
- 2 ml Fine Ginger (fresh Ginger finely chopped if possible)
- 1 whole Chili chopped (optional)
- 30 ml Cornflour
- 15 ml Curry Powder (add more if you like it hot and you can experiment with different curry mixes)
- 30 ml Water to make a paste with the flour
- Olive Oil
Instructions
- Start by filleting the fish and sprinkling lightly with salt and pepper and fish spice, (fish rub, optional)
- Preheat the oven to 180 to 190 C (350–375 F)
- Sprinkle the fish with flour, shake off excess flour, then fry slightly in oil until light brown, place in oven glass dish.
- Add the cornflour and bring to a boil.
- Now add the sauce to the fish in glass bowl.
- Bake for 30 minutes in pre-heated oven.
- Note: Pickled fish is best served a day or two after its made.
- Serve with fresh bread and butter.