Feed-a-crowd kedgeree biryani

Bake this classic brunch dish for a crunchy rice topping, filled with smoked haddock, prawns, eggs and spices - great for dinner too

Ingredients

350g basmati rice
100g butter
3 onions, halved and thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp turmeric
handful curry leaves (fresh are best but dried will do)
4 tbsp mild curry paste (we used tikka masala)
400g can coconut milk
250g frozen peas
zest 1 lemon, then cut into wedges, to serve
500g smoked haddock, skinned and cut into chunky pieces
200g raw king prawns
4 eggs
handful coriander leaves
1 red chilli, thinly sliced (deseeded if you don’t like it too hot)

Method

Cook the rice following pack instructions, then leave to go completely cold before chilling until ready to assemble.

Melt 75g butter in a large frying pan and add the onions. Sweat slowly until golden and caramelised – this will take 15-20 mins. Add the garlic, stir for 1-2 mins, then add the turmeric, curry leaves and curry paste. Sizzle for 1 min more, then pour in the coconut milk. Boil the sauce for 10 mins until roughly reduced by half, then remove from the heat.

To assemble the kedgeree, use a deep dish that’s big enough to hold everything (about 25cm x 35cm). Scatter roughly a quarter of the rice over the base of the dish and top with a third of the peas, some lemon zest, half the haddock and a third of the sauce. Season and repeat the process, this time using all the prawns instead of the haddock. Add another haddock layer (you should use all the ingredients here, except the rice). Cover the dish with the remaining rice and dot with the remaining butter. Cover the dish in cling film, then chill until ready to bake. Can be chilled for up to 24 hrs ahead.

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Uncover the dish and bake in the centre of the oven for 45 mins until the top is golden and crunchy. About 10 mins before the kedgeree is ready, bring a pan of water to the boil, then cook the eggs for 7 mins. Plunge the eggs into cold water and leave to cool down for a few mins.

To serve, remove the kedgeree from the oven and fluff up the rice with a fork, mixing in the crunchy topping. Peel and halve the eggs and place on top, then scatter over the coriander and chilli. Serve with lemon wedges.
Source: Good Food