White fish poached in a pale, gently soured coconut gravy with curry leaves, ginger and green chilli. Ready in half an hour and naturally gluten free.
Prep
15 mins
Cook
20 mins
Servings
4
Per serving
£2.75
Difficulty
easy
A molee is the opposite of a heavy curry. There is no browning, no long reduction and almost no ground spice: the flavour comes from coconut milk, aromatics softened rather than coloured, and a squeeze of lime at the end. Use a firm white fish that will hold together in the gravy.
Season the fish pieces with a third of the salt and a pinch of the turmeric and leave to sit while you start the gravy.
Heat the coconut oil in a wide, shallow pan over a medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and wait for them to pop, about 30 seconds, then throw in the curry leaves and stand back as they spit.
Have a lid ready. Fresh curry leaves hitting hot oil is dramatic but it lasts only a few seconds.
Add the sliced onion, ginger matchsticks, garlic and slit chillies. Cook for 8 minutes over a medium-low heat until soft and translucent, without letting anything brown.
Stir in the remaining turmeric and the black pepper and cook for 30 seconds.
Pour in the coconut milk and 100ml water, add the rest of the salt and bring to a very gentle simmer. Do not let it boil hard or the coconut milk will split.
Slide in the fish pieces in a single layer and add the tomato wedges around them. Cover and poach for 7 to 9 minutes, depending on thickness, until the fish flakes at the thickest point.
Turn off the heat and add the lime juice. Taste for salt and sharpness, and let it sit 3 minutes before serving with plain rice.
Do not stir the pan once the fish is in. Tilt and spoon the gravy over instead, or the fillets will break up.