Butter bean curry with smoked haddock
Homemade spice mix, curry paste, poached fish and eggs – this curry has it all! Use the freshest eggs you have for poaching.
For this recipe you will need a pestle and mortar and a blender.
Ingredients
For the spice mix
- 1 tbsp medium curry powder
- 1 tsp nigella seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
- 6 cardamom pods, seeds only
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ½ flaked sea salt
For the paste
- 15²µ/½´Ç³ú fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves
- ½ long red chilli, roughly chopped
- 1 large ripe vine tomato, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
For the curry
- 15²µ/½´Ç³ú butter
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 medium onion, finely sliced
- 400g tin butter beans, drained
- 400g tin coconut milk
- 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander, plus extra to serve
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice, plus extra to taste
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the fish
- 300ml/10½fl oz milk
- 2 x 150g/5½oz smoked haddock fillets
For the poached eggs
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 free-range eggs, for poaching
Method
To make the spice mix, grind all the ingredients together in a pestle and mortar. Set aside.
Place all the ingredients for the paste into a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth.
To make the curry, melt the butter with the oil in a medium non-stick frying pan and fry the onion for 3–4 minutes or until softened and lightly browned, stirring regularly. Add a heaped tablespoon of the spice mix and cook for 1 minute more, stirring constantly.
Add the paste and fry gently for 3 minutes, stirring. Add a little more oil if needed. Stir in the butter beans, coconut milk, coriander and lime juice. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Season with salt and pepper and lime juice, to taste.
While the sauce is simmering, cook the fish. Pour the milk into a small saucepan and stir in 2 teaspoons of the spice mix. Add the haddock, bring to a very gentle simmer and poach for 3–5 minutes, depending on thickness.
To cook the eggs, fill a medium pan a third full of water, add the white wine vinegar and bring to a gentle simmer. Break the eggs gently into the water and poach over a very low heat for 2–3 minutes, or until just set.
Divide the curry sauce between two warmed, shallow bowls. Lift the haddock out of the poaching liquid with a spatua or wide slotted spoon and drain well. Top each bowl with a piece of fish, then a poached egg. Scatter with fresh coriander and a grinding of ground black pepper to serve.
