A soup to warm the heart and soul, compliments of the Naked Chef himself, Jamie Oliver.
southern indian rice and seafood soup
5 tablespoons vegetable or sunflower oil
3 tablespoons brown mustard seeds
a handful of fresh curry leaves, picked off their stalks (or just medium/hot curry powder, whatever spice level you prefer)
2 teaspoons cumin seeds (or ground cumin)
1 teaspoon garam masala
1½ teaspoons chilli powder
2 teaspoons turmeric
3 red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
2 large thumb-sized pieces of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 handfuls of basmati rice
565ml water
600g fish, skinned, filleted and cut into 2– 3 inch chunks (or whatever kind of seafood you want, I've used mixed shellfish, cod, squid, shrimp, mussels, etc.)
2 x 400ml tins of coconut milk
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
juice of 2 limes
a handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
optional: 3 tablespoons freshly grated coconut
Get yourself a big pan and heat up your oil, then add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, cumin seeds, garam masala, chilli powder and turmeric. Cook for a few minutes and you'll get the most amazing smells filling the room from all these spices. Then add the chillies, the ginger, the garlic and the onions. Continue cooking slowly until the garlic and onions are soft. Then add the rice and the water. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Add your fish and the coconut milk with a pinch of salt. Put the lid on the pan and simmer for a further 10 minutes, then stir well to break up the pieces of fish. Taste and correct the seasoning with salt and pepper, then just before you serve it squeeze in the lime juice and stir in half the coriander. Serve in warmed bowls, sprinkle over some freshly grated coconut, if you have it, and rip over the rest of the coriander.
Serves: 4 (or 2, if you enjoy this soup as much as I do)