Celebrate our heritage with a delicious Cape Malay curry fish dish

Apparently, Lady Anne Barnard ate the dish on Meerlust farm in 1798 and later wrote: “I had fish from the nature of God, pickled with turmeric.” Curry and pickle were the most popular way of preserving them before the days of refrigerators.

There are many recipes that claim to be the best but this one really beats them all and is very straightforward and easy to make. 

The basic ingredients are fish, onions, vinegar, curry and turmeric, but each home has its secrets when it comes to making curry fish. The secret is that the fish should be firm, the curry slightly sweet and the onions not cooked. The dish is at its best with a nice thick slice of coarse bread with butter and delicious fresh lettuce.