With Easter around the corner, pickled fish recipes are bountiful! We could think of no better time to share our love and recipe for Vindaye poisson– Mauritian pickled fish. Tender fish morsels meet a fragrant tempered oil with spices and aromatics to create addictive bites. Vindaye poisson is quick and easy to make; the best part- it keeps in the fridge for up to 10 days.
Vindaye poisson is a flavourful dish with its origins from Keralan style dry fish pickle in India. Fried fish is preserved in a tempered oil with curry leaves, onions, garlic, mustard seeds and turmeric. A dash of lemon or vinegar cuts through the spicy oil. Every morsel is an explosion of flavours! Hence, it is no wonder that vindaye poisson adorns many a celebration tables in Mauritian as one of the famous Mauritian starters- gajacks. Traditionally served on bread slices, we ‘zhuzhed’ things up with some microgreens and sweet pickled cucumber ribbon slices for a fresh and crunchy contrast to the fish.
Vindaye flavours develop over time, hence making the dish ahead of time results in the best version of the recipe- a couple of days ideally, but 6 hours will do if that is all you can spare. We tend to think that it is best served the ‘gajack’ way, on a slice of crusty baguette. However, they work well in rotis or served alongside a crunchy salad with herby or lemon rice.
QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ABOUT VINDAYE POISSON
What fish can I use?
Any firm- not overly oily fish will do! The fish cubes need to hold up to frying and mixing in the tempered oil.
Can I use canned fish?
Yes! We sometimes make a budget version of this recipe by swapping out the fresh fish for 2 cans of tuna.
Vindaye Poisson
Ingredients
- 250 g firm white fish
- 3 tbsp olive/mustard oil
- ½ onion
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 3 green chillies (optional)
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
- 2 tsp wholegrain mustard/ black mustard seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric
- pinch asafoetida (optional)
- pinch (about a dozen) fenugreek seeds/ methi (optional)
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Cut the fish into 2 cm cubes. To aid in the cutting process, you can partially freeze the fish. Season with half the salt and pepper.
- In a frying pan, add a tablespoon of the oil and heat on medium high.
- Pan fry the fish cubes until lightly golden and cooked through but still tender, about 5-6 minutes. Turn the fish cubes to cook on all sides during the frying process. Remove the fish from the pan and reserve.
- Next prepare the tempering oil. Add the remaining oil to the pan and heat on medium heat.
- Add the onions, asafoetida (if using), curry leaves, remaining salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes until lightly golden.
- Add in the chillies, sliced garlic, fenugreek seeds and mustard and cook for another couple of minutes.
- Last add the turmeric and lemon juice and stir until combined before turning off the heat.
- Combine the fish and oil and keep in a glass container for upto 10 days.
- Serving suggestion: serve on crusty baguette slices with microgreens or pickled cucumber ribbons.