Plate 08 of 10

Dhal and Rice with Fried Fish

The weekly Guyanese comfort plate. Yellow split peas boiled soft with turmeric, garlic and whole wiri wiri, swizzled smooth with a wooden dhal gutni, then woken with the chunkay, garlic chips and cumin seed fried in smoking oil and poured hissing into the pot, served over parboiled rice with a fish steak rubbed in green seasoning and fried crisp.

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 45 min
Serves: 6
Difficulty: Medium

Researched · Kitchen testing pending

A plate of yellow dhal with fried garlic and cumin, white rice, a crisp fried fish steak and a cucumber and mango side.

Dhal and rice with fried fish is the comforting weekly meal of Guyanese homes, in coastal farming villages and city households alike. It descends from Indian dal-bhat and took on a coastal identity: yellow split peas boiled down with garlic, turmeric and wiri wiri, swizzled smooth with a wooden gutni.

What brings it to life is the chunkay, the high-heat infusion of thinly sliced garlic and roasted cumin seed in smoking oil, poured into the pot. It is served over fluffy parboiled rice with a fresh coastal fish rubbed in green seasoning, dusted with flour and fried crisp, with a sour achar on the side.

Ingredients

Dhal
400 gYellow split peas, rinsed and drained
2 LWater
6 gGround turmeric
6 clovesGarlic, crushed, for the pot
3 wholeWiri wiri peppers, whole
12 gFine sea salt
Chunkay
8 clovesGarlic, sliced paper-thin
15 gCumin seeds, whole
60 mlVegetable oil or ghee
Fish and rice
900 gFish steaks or fillets, snapper, bangamary or sea trout, in six 150 g portions
45 mlGreen seasoning, minced scallion, garlic, thyme, wiri wiri and lime juice
80 gPlain flour or fine cornmeal, for dusting
120 mlVegetable oil, for frying the fish
6 cupsCooked parboiled white rice, hot

The swizzle

As the peas simmer their cell walls break and release amylose and amylopectin. A wooden dhal gutni, spun between the palms, shears the last lumps into a creamy suspension without whipping in air the way a blender does.

The chunkay

Garlic slices and cumin seeds in 190 °C fat brown and crackle in 45 seconds, giving up cuminaldehyde and Maillard compounds into the oil. Poured into the pot, the fat disperses those flavours through the water-based soup in one violent hiss. Pale gold is the moment; black is too late.

The five tastes on this plate

Salt is in the puréed pea broth and the seasoned fish crust. Fat is the toasted ghee of the chunkay and the fried fish skin. Acid is lime in the green seasoning. Heat is the whole peppers boiled in the dhal, lightly crushed, and black pepper on the fish. Umami is browned garlic, toasted cumin and fresh white fish.

Equipment

4-quart stainless saucepan
Wooden dhal gutni, or a potato masher or immersion blender used sparingly
Small heavy skillet or iron ladle, for the chunkay
Cast-iron skillet, for the fish
Wire rack

The Guyanese kitchen uses a deep aluminium caldero, a carved wooden swizzle stick and a long-handled iron chunkay ladle. A saucepan, a masher and a small skillet do the same jobs.

Method

Simmer the split peas40 min
Combine the peas, 2 litres water, turmeric, crushed garlic and the whole wiri wiri in the saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil and skim the white froth. Reduce to medium-low, cover partially, and simmer 35 to 40 minutes until the peas are completely soft and falling apart.
Bring peas, 2 litres water, turmeric, crushed garlic and whole wiri wiri to a rolling boil; skim white froth. Simmer partly covered on medium-low 35–40 minutes until the peas fall apart.
Swizzle5 min
Off the heat, lift out the peppers and keep them. Spin the gutni between your palms, or mash, until the dhal is velvety and smooth. Stir in the salt and return to a low simmer.
Off the heat, lift out the peppers and keep them. Spin the gutni between your palms, or mash, until the dhal is velvety and smooth. Stir in the salt and return to a low simmer.
Fry the chunkay1 min
In the small skillet, heat the oil or ghee over high to about 190 °C. Add the garlic slices and cumin seeds and fry 45 to 60 seconds, watching the garlic go from white to golden-amber while the cumin crackles. Do not let it darken.
Heat oil or ghee in a small skillet over high heat to about 190 °C. Fry garlic slices and cumin 45–60 seconds until garlic is golden-amber and cumin crackles; do not let the garlic darken.
Temper the pot1 min
Pour the smoking fat, garlic and cumin straight into the simmering dhal. It will erupt. Stir hard to emulsify the fragrant oil through the soup and keep it warm.
Pour the smoking fat, garlic and cumin straight into the simmering dhal. It will erupt. Stir hard to emulsify the fragrant oil through the soup and keep it warm.
Season and fry the fish25 min
Pat the fish dry and rub with the green seasoning, a teaspoon of salt and black pepper. Marinate 15 minutes. Dredge lightly in flour and shake off the excess. Heat the oil in the cast-iron skillet over medium-high to about 180 °C and fry 4 minutes on the first side until golden and crusty, then 3 to 4 minutes on the second, to 63 °C. Drain on a rack.
Dry fish; rub with green seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Marinate 15 minutes; lightly flour and shake off excess. Heat oil in cast iron over medium-high to 180 °C. Fry 4 minutes, then 3–4 minutes after turning, until crusty and 63 °C inside. Rack-drain.
Serve
Mound hot rice in wide bowls, ladle generous pools of golden dhal over it, and set a crisp fish steak beside it with a wedge of lime.
Mound hot rice in wide bowls, ladle generous pools of golden dhal over it, and set a crisp fish steak beside it with a wedge of lime.
07
Sensory cues of doneness
- Visual: velvety sunflower-yellow dhal speckled with dark cumin and amber garlic chips over snowy rice, beside a golden, crisp-crusted fish steak.
- Auditory: a deafening hiss as the chunkay hits the dhal, and the sputter of fish in cast iron.
- Olfactory: toasted cumin, deeply browned garlic, turmeric and fish seared in hot oil.
Look for velvety yellow dhal with dark cumin and amber garlic over white rice, beside crisp golden fish. Expect a strong hiss when tempering and fish sizzling, with toasted cumin, garlic and turmeric aromas.

Troubleshooting

Bitter, black garlic in the chunkay.: Left a few seconds too long. The moment the chips are pale golden, tip the pan into the dhal.
Thin, watery dhal.: Too much water, or no swizzle. The shearing is what breaks the starch walls and thickens the soup.
Soft, soggy fish.: Cool oil or a crowded pan. Hot cast iron with space between the pieces.

Substitutions

One-to-one swaps, with the technique change each one needs.

Ingredient substitutions

Ingredient	Replace with	Culinary impact and technique adjustment
Bangamary or trout	Red snapper, sea bass, haddock or tilapia fillets	One-to-one
Green seasoning	Puréed scallion, garlic, fresh thyme and lime juice	One-to-one
Dhal gutni	A sturdy wire masher, or two pulses of an immersion blender	Pulse sparingly so no air goes in

Scaling

Half, for 3

Halve everything and simmer the dhal in 1 litre of water. It still needs 35 minutes.

Double, for 12

Double in a 6 to 8-quart pot, and raise the chunkay oil to 100 ml so the flavour carries through.

What to serve it with

Mango achar and lime achar
Fried bora and fried ripe plantains
A tall cold lime swank, a Banks, or fresh coconut water

Questions

What is a dhal gutni?

A wooden swizzle stick with a fluted star head. Spun between the palms it breaks the soft peas to velvet without incorporating air or turning the starch gummy.

Can I use lentils?

Yes. Yellow split peas are the Guyanese standard for their body, but red lentils work and cook in about 20 minutes.

What is green seasoning?

The Guyanese blend of scallion, garlic, thyme, wiri wiri and lime juice that seasons and tenderises fish and tames any fishy edge.