FATIMA’S PICKLED FISH
- 10 – 15 pieces of fish (I’m using hake)
- Seasoning:
- 1 teaspoon salt
- fish masala
- turmeric or Packo masala
- cake flour for dusting
- oil for frying
- Sauce:
- 1 cup of water
- 1 cup of vinegar
- 5 bay leaves
- some peppercorns
- coriander seeds
- 2 teaspoons of turmeric
- 2 tablespoons of fish masala or pickled fish masala or Packo masala
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 6 – 8 large onions, sliced into rings
- ½ cup of sugar
Season the fish with the salt, fish masala and some turmeric or Packo masala, dip the seasoned fish in the cake flour and fry in shallow oil for about 2 minutes on each side, depending on thickness of fish.
Place the fish in a big bowl and set aside.
In a medium sized pot, add the water, vinegar, bay leaves, peppercorns, turmeric and fish masala or Packo masala (pickle fish masala you may use) and salt.
Bring to the boil on medium heat.
Add the sliced onions and sugar.
Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until all the flavours has infused into onions.
Remove the pot from the heat and pour the sauce over the fish in the bowl.
Wait until the pickled fish is completely cool, cover and place in fridge until ready to eat. Enjoy!
Photo and note:
Marlene – I made Fatima’s pickled fish and it was delicious, I just modified it a little. My people like yellow curry and when I use masala the curry dish is not as yellow,, so I used yellow curry powder instead of Masala and also 1 packet of pickling spice instead of the separate spices. I also thickened my sauce with a little Maizina, because we don’t like a runny sauce in the plate.
Recipe source: Cape Malay cooking with Fatima Sydow
Photo: Marlene Potgieter
