These Persian fishcakes are full of herbs and make a delicious starter or light lunch. They can be made up in advance and cooked when you need them.
Wine Suggestion: the only option here is a youthful, light, off-dry Riesling where the aromatics, herbs, date and tamarind all play with each other. Tonight we drank the Dr Loosen Estate Riesling, his entry level wine made with his own fruit in the Mosel and it was an excellent match. Along with the Mosel we’d recommend the fruity styles (Kabinett & Spätlese) from other German regions such as the Nahe and Rheingau. Further afield the Aussie Rieslings tend to be too dry for a dish like this but there are some excellent NZ examples, Forrest Estate and Felton Rd spring to mind.
Bandari fishcakes with a tamarind and date sauce (Kuku-ye mahi) – serves 4
- 300g potatoes, peeled and roughly diced
- 200g white fish fillets e.g. cod/haddock
- ¼ tsp cumin seeds
- 50g coriander, finely chopped
- 25g parsley, finely chopped – plus extra to garnish
- 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaf (menthi)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- a pinch of cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- zest of ½ lemon
- 1 medium egg
- plain flour, for dusting
- 3 tbsp sunflower or olive oil
FOR THE TAMARIND & DATE SAUCE:
- 50g tamarind pulp soaked in 100ml just boiled water for 10 minutes
- 75g Iranian or Medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- a pinch of cayenne pepper
- a pinch of cinnamon
- 150ml hot water
Put the potatoes into a large pan and cover with cold water. Add a generous pinch of salt and bring to the boil, then simmer until tender. Drain, mash the potatoes, and put into a large mixing bowl.
Add the fish to the potatoes. Dry fry the cumin seeds in a small frying pan for a minute or until fragrant. Grind the seeds with a pestle and mortar, then add to the bowl along with the fresh herbs, fenugreek leaf, garlic, cayenne, turmeric, lemon zest, egg, 1¼ tsp of salt and ¼ tsp of pepper.
Mix well with your hands, then shape into eight round patties. Dust with a little flour and place on a plate, cover with cling film and chill.
To make the sauce, put the tamarind and its soaking liquid, the dates, brown sugar, cayenne, cinnamon and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan. Add the hot water and cook for 10 minutes over a low heat until the dates are very soft.
Take the sauce off the heat and sieve into a bowl, use the back of a spoon to rub as much through as possible.
To finish the fishcakes, heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the cakes on a medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes, turning every few minutes, until golden brown and crusted. Garnish with parsley and serve with the sauce.
(Original recipe from The Saffron Tales by Yasmin Khan, Bloomsbury, 2016.)
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