There’s are a few dinners that Hungry Hubby requests with regularity – kedgeree is one of his most favourite meals.
If you haven’t heard of it, know that it is an Anglo-Indian dish of gently spiced fish, rice, and eggs. Strictly speaking, it is usually made with smoked fish but neither of us is mad for smoked haddock so we stick to good old plain salmon fillets, just as Nigella instructs in the recipe I’ve made so many times, I don’t need to look it up anymore.
I am delighted, however, that I’ve been able to adapt this old favourite recipe to become my easy peasy Instant Pot Kedgeree.
Even though I adore this recipe as much as Hungry Hubby, I must admit that before I adapted it to pressure cooking, it was a real faff. Over the years, I adapted Nigella’s original recipe by grilling my salmon fillets but it was still a pain to make midweek unless I had plenty of time and didn’t mind using the oven and a couple of hobs for a very simple bowl of food!
This is one of the recipes that I think the Instant Pot was born to do.
What I do, is start the rice off in much the same way you do for risotto – sauté it very well in onions, oil, and spices, ensuring that it is glossy and starting to become translucent before adding the liquid. As we are going to cook the fish and eggs at the same time, I also find using boiling water instead of cold helps bring the pot to pressure faster which prevents overcooking the eggs and fish.
Having cooked a lot of rice in the Instant Pot now, I’ve realised how different brands of even the same sort of rice can vary in how much liquid and time they need to cook and another helpful tip is to soak your rice before you start cooking for 15-30 minutes before using it. And definitely, use white basmati – brown takes far too long to cook here.
The final dish is unbelievably tasty, despite its simplicity and it, as I am sure you can imagine, is very filling. The fish is cooked with a little lime zest and juice, the rice spiced simply with cumin, coriander, and turmeric.
The whole dish is seasoned with a little (furthermore) inauthentic Thai fish sauce, aka nam pla, and I think it is that final salty sprinkling which brings the whole dish together.
Do make sure you use a fridge cold egg so that it doesn’t turn chalky – you could, in fact, use duck eggs if you want to be extra decadent and fancy your eggs a little softer cooked.
A mildly spiced but beautifully balanced dish of rice, salmon and hard boiled eggs - all done in the Instant Pot. You will need a tall trivet to cook this, see beneath the recipe for a link to the one I use - the one which comes with the Instant Pot is not tall enough.
- 2 salmon fillets, about 1-1.5 inches thick
- 1 lime zest and juice
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 cup white basmati rice (250ml sized cup)
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1.25 cups water
- 3 large fridge cold eggs (they must be fridge cold or they will overcook)
- 1-2 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)
- 1-2 tbsp chopped coriander (optional)
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If you have the time, measure your rice into a bowl and cover with cold water. Allow to soak for 15-30 minutes and drain well before using.
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When ready to cook, pop the kettle on to boil. Sit the salmon fillets on a piece of foil leaving about 1 cm between them to ensure thorough cooking and grate over about 1/2 tsp of lime zest and squeeze over half the lime juice. Seal up the foil package and pop to the side for now.
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Put the Instant Pot into Sauté mode and add the oil and butter (you could use ghee if you have it). When hot, add the onion and cook until translucent and just starting to brown at the edges.
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Add the spices in and stir well before adding in the rice. Cook for a couple of minutes until well slicked with oil. Pour in 1.25 cups water from the kettle and stir very well.
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Carefully nestle the trivet into the rice. Place the salmon on one half and the eggs on the other - see the photo in the post. Cancel Sauté mode, put on the lid and set to Manual High for 5 minutes.
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When the alarm sounds, do a QPR. Using oven-gloved hands, retrieve the eggs and run under cold water to cool them enough to allow peeling. Slice in half. Remove the salmon and gently flake it into 1 inch sized chunks. Add any juice from the salmon to the rice along with 1-2 tbsp of fish sauce to taste. Sprinkle with coriander, if using.
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Serve by dividing the rice between two bowls and sharing out the salmon and finishing with 1.5 eggs each. Eat immediately.
1. My version of this recipe is adapted from one by Nigella Lawson, written in her book Nigella Bites.
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2. If you enjoy soft boiled eggs, by all means cook them in a pan on the stove - we both love them but I must admit, the convenience of the Instant Pot and fact that I can cook all the elements of this dish at once wins and I make do with a hard "boiled" egg!
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Like this post? Then why not try these related recipes:
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- Sake Salmon
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- How to Cook Salmon in the Instant Pot
[…] Nigella Lawson: Instant Pot Kedgeree from Every Nook & Cranny […]
I just made it, as it is Lent, and I was looking for some comfort food for my kids with colds.
In all ways, I followed the recipe, except I didn’t have salmon, so I used Trader Joe’s Soy Ginger cod filets. I still used lime and lime zest on them. Instead of foil, I used a Pyrex bowl with a glass lid. I also did put in cilantro at the end.
It was divoon!!!!!
Great recipe. I have never tried kedgeree, but have wanted to. Thanks for making this easy, Instant Pot recipe. Great directions. It was a true success.
[…] Nigella Lawson: Instant Pot Kedgeree […]