Recipes | Nokx Majozi’s Fish Curry and Pumpkin Maize Meal

Recipes

Nokx Majozi’s Fish Curry and Pumpkin Maize Meal

There are so many good recipes in The Female Chef, a compilation of favourite recipes from Britain’s leading women cooks that it’s hard to pick out just one but here’s one from a chef I really admire, Nokx Majozi of the Holborn Dining Room. Nokx is famous for her pies but this is a family recipe from her homeland of South Africa.

‘This is a recipe my late father used to make. He worked in the harbour and right beside it there were fishmongers. He often used to come home with fresh fish for dinner, so it’s a fond memory and one of the first recipes I ever learnt. I’m from Durban in South Africa; a city that is huge on curries.’

Serves 4–6 people

For the fish curry
15g/1⁄2oz curry powder
10g/1⁄4oz ground cumin
30g/1oz fish masala spice mix
1kg/2lb 3oz fish steaks (you can use a fish of your choice)
50ml/13⁄4fl oz vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
15g/1⁄2oz garlic (around 2–3 average-sized cloves), grated
15g/1⁄2oz fresh ginger, peeled and grated
sprig of curry leaves
200g/7oz tomato purée
10g/1⁄3oz sugar
150ml/5fl oz coconut milk
15g/1⁄2oz fresh coriander leaves

For the pumpkin maize meal

1 tsp salt
1kg/2lb 3oz peeled pumpkin (or butternut squash), cooked and mashed
250g/9oz maize meal (or polenta)

For the salsa

1 carrot, grated
1 small onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1⁄4 cucumber, chopped
1⁄2 lemon, juiced
salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make the fish curry, first mix together the spices and divide in half, then rub the fish with half of the mixture until well coated. Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and add the fish, frying on both sides until browned. Remove the fish from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan and oil, cook the onion, garlic, ginger and curry leaves until the onion and garlic
are translucent and the rest are browned. Lower the heat, add the other half of the spices and stir well. Add the tomato purée, sugar and coconut milk and bring to a boil, then add the fish back in, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the pumpkin maize meal. steaks Place 1 litre/13⁄4 pints water in a pot (that has a lid) over a medium–high heat, add the salt and bring to a boil. Add the pumpkin (or butternut squash), maize meal (or polenta) and stir until all is combined and smooth. Reduce the heat, put on the lid and simmer for 10–15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

To make the salsa, mix together all of the ingredients and season to taste.

When ready to serve, scatter the coriander leaves over the fish curry and enjoy with the maize meal and salsa.

What to drink: I'd pair a viognier with this FB.

Extracted from The Female Chef by Clare Finney & Liz Seabrook published by Hoxton Mini Press at £28

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Comments: 1 (Add)

Gordon on June 2 2022 at 01:21

Not being from your country I find the way you measured your ingredients to be terribly confusing.

Couldn't you just use Table spoons, etc.?

What the heck is 15g convert to? I have to idea...

I think everyone would find this recipe a lot more friendly if you did that.

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