Fishcakes with masala mayo

When I was opening a restaurant in 2005, Indian-spiced fish wasn’t being served anywhere. We wanted to create a dish that everyone would love, so we came up with these fish cakes. They were so popular that we put them on the menus of the entire restaurant group — they were still on the menu when I left the group 14 years later.

These fish cakes are a fusion of Indian and Thai food and are the perfect way to use up leftover cooked fish. I usually use cod, salmon or even stone bass, but any fish will work. I never use fresh fish for fish cakes because I find the texture to be too bouncy. If you’re making these from scratch, start with 500g of fresh, uncooked fish and cook it on a baking tray in the oven at 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7 for about 15 minutes, until cooked through.

1. Preparation: Measure out your spices into two separate small bowls: one bowl for the paprika, fennel, turmeric and salt for the masala mayo and one for the fennel seeds, nigella seeds and turmeric for the fish cakes. Prep and measure out all the remaining ingredients before you start cooking so that everything is ready to go and the spices don’t burn.
2. Cook the whole peeled potatoes in a saucepan of boiling salted water until cooked through but still holding their shape. Drain and set aside to cool, then grate using the large holes on a box grater.
3. Meanwhile, make the masala mayo. Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat, then remove the pan from the heat. Add the green and red chillies, ginger, ground spices, salt and a squeeze of lemon, then transfer to a bowl and allow to cool before stirring in the mayonnaise until well combined. Chill in the fridge while you finish making the fish cakes.
4. While the potatoes are boiling and cooling, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the ginger, garlic, fennel seeds, nigella seeds and turmeric and cook for 1 minute, then add the curry paste and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 3–4 minutes more, stirring constantly so that the paste doesn’t stick or burn.
5. Flake the cooked fish into a large bowl, using this opportunity to make sure there are no bones. Add the spiced curry paste, grated potato and fresh herbs and mix until well combined. Divide into eight portions and form each one into a cake roughly 5cm across.
6. Heat some oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Working in batches if necessary so that you don’t crowd the pan, add the fish cakes and cook for 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown and heated through (remember, the fish and potato are already cooked).
7. Serve the fish cakes with a spoonful of the masala mayo on top and some pickled cucumber and red onion raita on the side.