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Fish Breyani
Fish Breyani is a traditional South African (Cape Malay) recipe for a classic layered biriani-style dish of potatoes, rice, lentils, flaked fish and yoghurt topping cooked in an onion sauce. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic South African version of: Fish Breyani.
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
80 minutes
Total Time:
100 minutes
Serves:
6–8
Rating: 
Tags : CurrySauce RecipesSpice RecipesVegetable RecipesMilk RecipesBaking RecipesBean RecipesSouth-africa Recipes
This is a classic South African recipe for a spicy fish dish that shows the Malay influence on the cuisines of the Cape region. Of course, this is based on the Mogul dish of Biryani which came to South Africa via a circuitous route through Malaysia and it was Malaysians of Indian origins who brought the dish to South Africa.
As I love curries and curry-derived recipes I'm very excited to be able to present this recipe here. It's derived from the family recipe collection of a South African friend. I am editing the recipes for her and she has graciously allowed me to publish them on this website.
Smoked snoek is probably the commonest fish used to make this dish.
Ingredients:
1kg firm, white fish fillets (this needs to be a fish that flakes easily when cooked [cod, hake, hoki, salmon even mackerel are all good])
For the Marinade:
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp salt
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
For the Breyani:
4 tbsp sunflower oil
500g basmati rice, washed and drained
500ml cold water, lightly salted
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm dice
2 onions, finely chopped
125g cooked brown lentils (tinned are fine)
250ml hot water
50g butter or ghee
3 cinnamon sticks
5 brown cardamom pods, crushed
5 cloves
5 whole allspice berries
1 handful chopped coriander (leaves and stalks)
1 tomato, blanched, peeled and chopped
3 bayleaves
300ml natural yoghurt
sea salt, to taste
butter for dotting
Method:
Skin the fish fillets and place in a flat-bottomed dish just large enough to hold the fillets. In a bowl, beat together the marinade ingredients. Pour over the fish then turn the fish over in the marinade to ensure that they are evenly and well coated. Cover and set aside to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (2 hours is best).
After this time, heat a tbsp of the sunflower oil in a large frying pan. Add the fish fillets and fry until golden brown on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.
Place the rice in a colander or sieve and place under a cold tap. Wash until the liquid coming from the rice runs clear.
Add a tbsp more oil to the frying pan. Place over high heat and when hot add the rice, stir the rice until well coated in the oil then stir in the salted water. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Take off the heat then drain the rice and set aside to cool.
Add the remaining oil to the frying pan and use to fry the potatoes until lightly browned on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the chopped onions to the oil remaining in the pan and fry for about 8 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove half the onions with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, cloves, allspice berries, bayleaves, tomato, yoghurt, coriander and salt to the onions remaining in the frying pan. Bring to a simmer then work in the 250ml warm water and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Take a large flame-proof casserole and arrange a layer of potatoes in the base. Sprinkle half the rice on top. Flake the fish and arrange on top of the rice then pour over the onion sauce (remove the bayleaves). Sprinkle over the cooked lentils and top with the remaining rice. Dot the top with butter then sprinkle over the reserved fried onions.
Place a tight-fitting lid on the casserole then seal with a dough made from flour and water. Cook the dish on high heat for five minutes then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes more (do not be tempted to open the lid). Remove the flour paste seal and serve the breyani straight from the casserole.
