Fish Finger Bhorta

Name: Fish Finger Bhorta
Cuisine: Asian, Indian
Ingredients: ½ red onion; red wine vinegar or lime juice to cover; 2 (total weight approx. 300g) regular onions; 2 red chillies; 2 fat cloves of garlic; 1 x 15ml tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger (approx. 50g / 3-inch chunk); 12 frozen fish fingers; 3 x 15ml tablespoons cold-pressed rapeseed oil or vegetable oil; 2 x 15ml tablespoons English mustard (from a jar); 2 teaspoons Maldon sea salt flakes (or 1 teaspoon fine sea salt); 125 grams young spinach; 1 lime; 3 x 15ml tablespoons roughly chopped fresh coriander (plus more to serve)

Instructions

If you’d asked me any time up until recently whether I’d ever thought I’d bring out a book with a fish finger recipe in it, I’d have been fairly certain the answer would be no. Thank goodness we live and learn. Not that I have anything against fish fingers — a fish finger sandwich is right up there on my list of most-savoured comfort foods — but I hadn’t thought they were the stuff of recipes. And then I learnt about the Bird’s Eye Bhorta on the journalist Ash Sarkar’s Twitter feed, and everything changed for me. As it will for you if you try this. Onions are cooked until soft, with garlic, ginger and chillies, dolloped with mustard, and with crisp edged fish fingers mashed into the pan at the end, with coriander, spinach and lime. It is my absolute go-to when the need for vibrant sustenance and delicious comfort hits.

Updated at: Sun, 16 Feb 2025 17:23:23 GMT