Cardamom-perfumed Gaba rice and lentil pilaf with crispy shallots and cardamom-salted cod loin

Serves 4-6 Starters and mains

Advertisement

Method

First, fry the shallots for serving. Heat the oil in a wok, add half the sliced shallots and fry for around 5 minutes, turning them as they take on a light golden colour. Have a heatproof bowl ready with a metal sieve set over it and a plate lined with kitchen paper.

As they crisp up, tip the shallots and the oil into the sieve, then tip the shallots on to the lined plate.

Wipe out the wok and put the oil back, then add the remaining shallots and fry as before. Set aside until ready
to serve, reserving a little of the oil to fry the fish. Once cooled, the shallots will keep in a jar for around a week.

Around 2 hours before serving, prepare the fish. Grind the seeds from the 4 cardamom pods with the salt in a pestle and mortar and use to dust the fish on all sides. Set aside for around 2 hours.

To make the rice, put the rice in a medium pan with 1tsp of the sea salt flakes. Cover with water and bring
to a simmer, then cook for around 15 minutes, topping up with water if necessary. For the last few minutes, cover and lower the heat. Drain, reserving 2tbsp of the cooking water, and leave to cool.

Put the lentils in a smaller pan with a pinch of salt and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes until just tender and still keeping their shape. Rinse under cold water and drain.

Meanwhile, split open the cardamom pods, remove the seeds and roughly grind them. Put the saffron in a small bowl with the 2tbsp rice cooking water and leave for 10 minutes. Stir in the yoghurt, olive oil, half the ground cardamom and the remaining 2tsp salt.

Put just over half the cooled rice in a bowl and add the yoghurt mixture. Put a few knobs of ghee, spaced out, in the bottom of a 24cm, preferably non-stick, frying pan or shallow cast iron pot, with a close-fitting lid. Then layer up, adding the yoghurt rice mixture followed by all the lentils. Scatter the barberries or currants and most of the pistachios over, along with the lemon zest. Mix the remaining ground cardamom into the remaining rice and add to the pan. Using a chopstick, make about 8 holes in the rice to allow the steam to escape. Dot the rice with the remaining ghee.

Using a thin, clean tea towel or a piece of muslin, wrap the lid, tying it at the top to stop it coming into contact with your heat source. Add the lid to the pan and put over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Turn down the heat to low and give it another 25 minutes, turning the pan or pot regularly. If you have one, a heat diffuser mat is very useful on a naked flame for even browning especially if your pan isn’t heavy.

Towards the end of the cooking time, lift the lid and push a spatula under some of the rice to see if it’s golden and to hear if it’s crispy. Preheat the oven to a low setting. When the rice is ready, invert on to a large oven-proof serving plate and top with the crispy shallots and the remaining pistachios. Keep the rice warm in a low oven while you cook the fish.

Remove the salt from the cod with kitchen paper, then rub some of the oil used to fry the shallots over it. Heat a frying pan and cook the fish, skin-side down, for 3 minutes. Add a little more oil, turn the fish over and fry for another few minutes to cook right through.

Gently remove the fish skin before serving the cod with the rice dish.