River Cobbler – Goan Fish Curry

The lovely people at Sainsbury’s sent me a voucher a while back, so I could try out their River Cobbler. Sainsbury’s were the first major retailer in the UK to start stocking River Cobbler – which is certified by the ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council) Farmed in South East Asia, they have been working with the ASC since 2011 to ensure the fish could be certified. It’s all about environmental sustainability and social responsibility. Which sounds excellent to me, I’m forever confused by what fish I am okay to eat!

River Cobbler is a white fish, without a fishy flavour – it’s flaky, so an excellent alternative for cod or haddock. It takes flavour incredibly well, so I decided a curry would be the direction to go in.

I’m a massive fan of the Goan Fish Curry stall at Glastonbury – tucked at the back of the Jazzworld field, always with a massive queue – so I wanted to recreate this. I found a recipe on Jennifer Joyce’s blog Meals In Heels and tweaked it a little. The result was really delicious, an instant hit. The tamarind paste from Sainsbury’s is pretty dark in colour, much darker than the Bart’s paste I usually buy so I would be interested to see how that changes it when I cook it again.

As for the river cobbler, I was really impressed. Perfect for people who aren’t keen on fish, it wasn’t too flakey and it handled the curry sauce really well.

Goan Fish Curry
adapted from Jennifer Joyce – Meals In Heels
serves 2

Thumb-sized piece of ginger – peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove – chopped
1 green chilli – deseeded and chopped
4 plum tomatoes – cut in chunks
large handful of coriander

***

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 smallish onion – thinly sliced
50g / 1.8g tamarind paste
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp mustard seeds
200ml vegetable stock
250g / 8.8oz river cobbler – cut in chunks

20g / 0.7oz fresh coconut – grated & toasted

***

to serve: rice, green beans, thinly sliced red onion & fresh coriander

In a blender (it gets the paste finer than a food processor) blitz the ginger, garlic, chilli, tomatoes and coriander – add a little water if it needs helping along.

Put the oil in a large deep frying pan on a medium heat – add the onion and season with salt & pepper. Cook for about 5-6 minutes until softened.

Next add the curry paste – cook this for about 5 minutes, stirring continuously.

Add the tamarind paste, sugar and spices – stir until the sugar has dissolved.

Then pour in the stock, turn the heat down and simmer for 30 minutes – add more water if needed.

Add the fish and cook for 5 minutes, or until it’s cooked through.

Season to taste and serve with rice, green beans and sprinkle over coriander leaves, the thinly sliced red onion and toasted coconut.