Takes 80 minutes

Serves 4

We both love fish, and we both love curry, but we don’t actually make that many fish curries. This though, is a gorgeous exception, a classy, sophisticated, exciting dish combining the subtle spice crusting of the fish with a complex, zesty, slightly fruity sauce; the last ingredient to go into the sauce, the tamarind, binds the flavours together perfectly. It’s not a madly hot sauce, but the flavours are lifted by a medium strength chilli heat. Brill works very well, it’s quite a fishy fish, but we’ve tried it with lemon sole and monkfish too, and they worked beautifully. The butter basting technique of cooking the fish is an interesting one, the fish is actually cooked much more slowly than conventional pan frying, retaining flavour and texture and juiciness without making it greasy

4 x 180g brill fillets, skin on

2 tbspns ghee or clarified butter

The spice rub

½ tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp salt

The spice crust

1 tsp allspice berries

1 dspn ground nutmeg

1 tsp black peppercorns

2 blades of mace

5cm piece of cinnamon stick

6 green cardamom pods, opened, the seeds taken out, and the pods discarded

1 dspn ground ginger

Masala mix for the sauce

2 tbspns ground coriander

2 green cardamom pods, opened, the seeds taken out, and the pods discarded

2.5cm piece of cinnamon stick

2 cloves

2 bay leaves, finely chopped

2 tsps fennel seeds

1 star anise

¼ tsp ground cumin

The sauce

3 tablespoons of coconut oil or vegetable oil

2 onions, finely chopped

1 medium tomato, finely chopped

10 curry leaves

5cm piece of cinnamon stick

4 green cardamom pods, opened, the seeds taken out, and the pods discarded

4 cloves

1 bay leaf

1 tbsp of the masala mix (see above)

5cm piece fresh ginger finely chopped

½ tsp ground turmeric or a 2cm chunk of whole turmeric

½ tsp black mustard seeds

½ tsp hot chilli powder

150 ml thin coconut milk

2 tsps tamarind paste

1 tsp salt

To serve

Fresh coriander leaves

Spinach

Greek style yoghurt

• Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper, rub with the turmeric and salt and set aside for at least 30 minutes

• To make the spice crust, roast all the spice crust ingredients except the ginger and nutmeg in a dry, heavy bottomed frying pan for about 4 minutes, until they start to smell lovely. Leave to cool, then grind to a coarse powder in a mortar and pestle. Add the ginger and nutmeg and mix well. Rub the mixture evenly into the flesh side of the four fish fillets, sprinkle some on a plate, and leave them skin side up on top. Set aside

• To make the masala mix for the sauce, roast the cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, cloves and star anise in a dry, heavy bottomed frying pan for about 4 minutes, until they are fragrant. Leave to cool, then grind to a very fine powder in a spice grinder or blender. Add the powdered coriander, fennel seeds and cumin, and give a final blitz to mix the spices. Set aside.

• To make the sauce, heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok and add the onions and cinnamon. Fry gently for about 10 mins, or the onion is soft and translucent, then add the cardamom, cloves, mustard seeds and bay leaf. When the mustard seeds begin to crackle, add the curry leaves, ginger, turmeric, chilli powder and a tablespoon of the masala mix (the rest will keep well in an airtight container in a cupboard). Stir for one minute, then add the tomato and salt, and cook till soft. Add the coconut milk and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Then add the tamarind paste, and simmer for 3 minutes. Then sieve into a small saucepan and remove from the heat. Set aside and keep warm

• Steam and drain the spinach

• To cook the fish, heat the ghee/butter in a heavy bottomed frying pan, add the fish, skin side down, and cook over a low to medium heat for about 5 minutes, basting with ghee/melted butter as you do. Then turn over, and cook for another 4 minutes, still basting

• Put a puddle of the sauce on each of four plates and carefully place a fillet on top, skin side up. Put a spoonful of spinach on one side and a decent sized blob of yoghurt on the other, scatter a couple of whole coriander leaves, and serve