Some time ago, the wee menu on Facebook on my iPhone changed to include videos and a whole bunch of other garbage I wasn’t interested in. I figured out a way to customize it but I left in the videos because it made me look at suggested videos on my feed which was advantageous because I would have never come across Nigella Lawson’s recipe for Kedgeree. The ingredients and origin of the dish enticed me.
“According to “Larousse Gastronomique”, what we call kedgeree originated from a concoction of spiced lentils, rice, fried onions and ginger known as khichiri dating back to the 14th century and eaten across India. The early colonists developed a taste for it, as it reminded them of nursery food” (from The Economist, please click here for the link).
Nigella’s version was made with rice and some simple spices such as curry. On perusing the internet, I discovered that many recipes did not include curry powder but a variety of spices to make the flavours more interesting. We love cumin, coriander and turmeric so those were my spices of choice. I also found a few recipes to include raisins which brought me right back to Morocco. I thought I’d give the dish a go and it was very successful with the exception that it was a bit dry. I have amended my ingredients to include a little extra chicken stock to give it a bit more wetness, not quite like risotto but just this side of it.
The recipe is full of flavour and works well as a quick weeknight meal.
Kedgeree
A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 150 g hot smoked salmon
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
- 100 g sweet onions, finely chopped
- 30 g butter
- 5 g cumin
- 5 g coriander
- 5 g turmeric
- 130 g basmati rice, rinsed
- 300 mL chicken stock, plus more for wetness
- 8 g puréed roasted garlic
- 10 mL fish sauce
- 25 g sultana raisins
- Cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 lime, zested and juiced
Directions:
- In a medium sauce-pan, sauté the onions in the butter until translucent, add the spices and cook until fragrant. Rinse the rice and strain. Toast the rice with the onions and spices until it’s fairly dry.
- Combine the chicken stock with the roasted garlic and fish sauce and add it to the rice cooker, mix in the sautéed onions, rice and raisins and cook as directed by the manufacturer. When cooked, stir in a little additional chicken stock to achieve the desired wetness in the rice.
- Flake the salmon and toss it with the cooked rice on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the cilantro and lime zest and juice. Garnish with the hard-boiled eggs. Serve at any temperature you wish.
Notes:
- This is not an authentic kedgeree recipe, it is my version of several recipes after I discovered this dish on the web.
- Most recipes use curry powder but I prefer the flavours of cumin, coriander and turmeric in this recipe.
- As with many Indian foods, this is likely an English bastardization.
- To make this dish vegetarian, or vegan, use coconut oil instead of butter, vegetable stock instead of chicken and tofu or beans instead of salmon.
- We grilled our Pacific Salmon on the Big Green Egg which provided enough smoky flavour to the dish. If it’s not enough, add a little smoked paprika to achieve a slightly smokier flavour.
- It seems that this dish can be eaten at any time at any temperature but we prefer it warm for lunch or dinner.

This dish always reminds me of those breakfasts in English country house mysteries, where you know the murderer is right there among the innocent bystanders who are all picking at whatever the butler delivered to the buffet.
be well… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
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That looks wonderful Eva! I love Kedgeree – it has everything that I love like fish, rice and spices 😀
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Thanks Lorraine
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It seems so many place have their own versions of fried rice. I’ve seen kedgeree recipes before but after reading this I am now tempted to make my own!
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Thanks Abbe, glad I was able to inspire you!
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I haven’t had this dish in years and years. And I’ve never made it. Such an interesting idea to use salmon in this — bet the flavor is marvelous. Really fun recipe — thanks.
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Thank you kindly, John
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I saw this dish made with smoked haddock listed on a breakfast menu in London and thought it would be better suited to an afternoon or evening meal like you suggest.
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Our digestive systems weren’t made for such flavourful savoury dishes first thing in the morning!
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😊
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oh, this is lovely. I don’t think i’ve ever seen a recipe that included salmon! Brilliant!
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Isn’t that funny, most of the recipes I’ve found only had salmon!
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Really? I typically see chicken. Interesting.
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I haven’t thought of this dish since watching Two Fat Ladies. One of those dishes you read about in old British mysteries. 🙂
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My Mom used to love that show; I’ll have to look up their recipe. Thanks Maria
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I have a copy of the show on dvd for those nostalgic moments.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/kedgeree-recipe-1918589
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Thank you for that. I used to watch these with my Mom, particularly after she became ill.
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Sweet memory. My nephew liked the show. He doesn’t cook a lot (I don’t think he ever made any of their dishes) but he used to watch it with me. 🙂
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I’ve heard of this dish but never didn’t know exactly what it was. Sounds very nice indeed, but it’s funny to think of English colonialists tucking into a bowl of this…
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I too, am always surprised about the British love of flavourful curries when their food is generally so bland!
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That looks comforting and tasty with salmon and lovely warming spices.
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Thanks Angie
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Wow, I’ve never heard of this dish…and such an unusual, yet delicious combination! I’d love it with lentils, too!
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I’ll have to try the lentil version too, sounds delicious.
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