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    Rice · Recipe · Britain · Reference page

    Kedgeree

    kedgeree

    A British breakfast dish of spiced rice, flaked smoked haddock and soft-boiled eggs, descended from the Indian khichri of rice and lentils. This one-pot version is Donal Skehan's, for SBS Food.

    Kedgeree with golden long-grain rice, smoked fish flakes, soft-boiled eggs, parsley and lemon.
    Editorial illustration of the documented recipe; not a photograph of a kitchen-tested result.
    Servings
    2
    Preparation
    10 min
    Cooking
    30 min
    Total
    40 min
    Difficulty
    Easy

    Equipment

    • High-sided saucepan with a lid
    • Small saucepan for the eggs
    Servings2

    Ingredients

    • Rice

    • Fish and eggs

    • To serve

    Shopping list

    Method

    1. Melt the butter in the saucepan over medium heat until foaming. Add the onion, lower the heat and sweat it gently for about 8 minutes until soft.

      Timer · 8 min8:00

    2. Add the rice, garam masala and turmeric and toss gently for 2 minutes until coated in the butter and onion.

      Timer · 2 min2:00

    3. Stir in the stock, cover and cook gently for 15 minutes until the liquid is absorbed.

      Timer · 15 min15:00

    4. About 5 minutes before the end, check the seasoning, lay the haddock on the rice and dot with a little butter. Cover again and cook until the rice is tender.

      Why The fish steams on top of the rice and flakes easily.

    5. Fork the fish gently through the rice. Serve on warm plates with parsley, the halved eggs and lemon wedges.

    Substitutions

    • Smoked haddock → Smoked cod or mackerel, or another firm fish, as the source allows.
    • Chicken stock → Water or fish stock (editorial).

    Common mistakes

    • Stirring the rice while it cooks: it breaks and turns sticky.
    • Using bright yellow dyed haddock: the colour is artificial and the flavour weaker.

    Storage & reheating

    Best eaten at once. Cool leftovers within an hour, keep in the fridge no more than a day and reheat once, until steaming hot (UK FSA).

    Safety

    Contains fish, egg and milk (butter). Many stocks contain celery: check the label.

    Allergens

    Fish · Egg · Milk · Celery

    Check labels: stock, bacon and sauces can contain further allergens.

    Dietary

    gluten-free

    From khichri to the breakfast table

    The word is Hindi. Hobson-Jobson, the great glossary of Anglo-Indian words (1886), defines kedgeree or kitchery as khichṛī, rice cooked with butter and dal and flavoured with spice and shredded onion, "a common dish all over India" and often served at Anglo-Indian breakfasts. It quotes Ibn Battuta, about 1340, on rice boiled with mung beans and buttered, eaten every day at breakfast.

    The glossary also notes the British change: "In England we find the word is often applied to a mess of re-cooked fish, served for breakfast; but this is inaccurate. Fish is frequently eaten with kedgeree, but is no part of it." The British breakfast kedgeree of rice, smoked fish and eggs grew from that habit.

    [1]

    One pot, fish on top

    Donal Skehan cooks it like a pilaf. The basmati is coated in butter, onion, garam masala and turmeric, then simmered covered in stock. The smoked haddock is laid on top for the last five minutes so it steams, then flaked through the rice. Soft-boiled eggs, parsley and lemon go on at the table.

    [2]

    How it connects

    Place

    • origin Britain In preparation

    Rice

    Recipe

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