Recheado Masala Fish

Ingredients

• 1kg (2lb 4oz) fish such as sardines or mackerel, fins snipped off
• Flake sea salt, to serve Lemon wedges, to serve
• FOR THE RECHEADO MASALA
• 25 dried Kashmiri chillies, roughly chopped (remove the seeds if you don’t want it super-hot)
• 1 tsp black peppercorns 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 6 cloves
• 6 fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
• 2 red onions, finely chopped
• 3 red bird’s eye chillies
• 5cm (2in) piece of ginger, peeled
• and roughly chopped
• 10 garlic cloves, smashed and
• roughly chopped
• 1⁄4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1⁄4 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp tamarind paste (The ‘paste’
• I use is labelled ‘concentrate’. 70ml (1⁄4 cup) palm vinegar (or white wine or cider vinegar)
• Salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Place the fish on a board and scrape as much moisture out of the skin as you can using a sharp knife, then score the fish a few times on each side. Cover and place in the fridge while you prepare the marinade.
2. Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat and toast the chillies for about 2 minutes until fragrant. Be sure to move them around in the pan so that they toast evenly, then tip into a bowl and cover with water. Let stand for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, toast the whole spices until fragrant but not yet smoking and then transfer to a plate to cool.
4. Next, pour the oil into the pan and fry the onions over a medium heat for about 7 minutes until soft, transparent and lightly caramelized. Pour the fried onions, drained chillies, toasted whole spices and the remaining ingredients apart from the salt into a spice grinder or blender and blend to a smooth paste.
5. The recheado paste should be quite red. If you want it to be more red, you could add more paprika or even some more toasted chillies. Taste and add salt if you wish. You could also add a little more sugar if you want it sweeter.
6. Rub the paste all over and inside the fish, ensuring that you get the marinade right into the slits you made. Set to one side to marinate while you fire up the grill.
7. Many people use fish baskets to grill fish on the barbecue and if you have one, you could definitely use it here if you like. I have one, but it’s still in the packaging it came in. It just isn’t needed.
8. Prepare a hot, direct heat fire, lightly brush the cooking grate with oil and when it is uncomfortable to hold your hand 5cm (2in) above the grill for more than 2 seconds, place your fish on it. Grill on one side until the fish comes away from the grill naturally and without sticking. A good metal spatula will help with this but don’t force it. The fish will come away once the skin has charred a bit.
9. Flip and cook the other side until equally charred. Check, and if by chance the fish isn’t completely cooked through, just continue cooking for a couple more minutes. Depending on how charred the skin is, you might want to continue cooking over a cooler part of the fire.
10. Sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt and serve with lemon wedges.

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