• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Snapchat
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MsMarmiteLover

  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Vegan
  • Travel
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • UK
  • Wine
  • Gardens
  • Supperclubs/Events
  • About
    • Published Articles
    • Books
  • Shop
    • Cart

Recipe for cod with Bengali lime

March 19, 2014 10 Comments Filed Under: Food, Recipes, Uncategorized

I’m a little bit obsessed with citrus. I’ve even tried to grow some with limited success: the Meyer lemon tree produced just one delicately floral lemon then promptly died. The kaffir lime bush is no more. The kumquat plant is deceased never to garnish my stove with saumon en papillote again. 
I’m still on the lookout for fresh yuzu, I expended much energy a couple of years ago, trying to persuade grapefruit farmers to grow fresh yuzu. This is only available in Japan, but you can get the paste and nowadays the juice here. Even Jamie Oliver talked about it on his show, so yuzu is entering the mainstream as an ingredient. 
My latest citrus crush is Bengali lime. For about £1.40 you can buy a large knobbly green lime, in any area, like Whitechapel in London, where Bengalis live and shop. It’s totes amaze balls. 
Dig your thumbnail into the flesh and sniff, you are transported to more exotic climes. The scent filled my kitchen when I used it to flavour roast cod. I think it is called ‘Gondhoraj Lebu’ in Bengali. But they might also be called ‘Shatkora’ according to Kavey’s blog. Reading the comments on her blog, it is clear that there is a whole universe of Asian citrus to discover.
I trod carefully at first with the Bengali lime with this simple cod recipe, but then started to add the zest and juice to everything, including jam. The shopkeepers told me that Bengalis just eat the lime raw, with curry, or in a kachumber-like salad, or in a pickle. 
Roast cod with Bengali lime, dill and soba noodles.
For two
75ml Olive oil
2 x 200g filet of cod, pinned, skinned
1 Bengali lime, cut into slices
Salt
Fresh dill, chopped finely
1 stick of soba noodles (they are sold in bundles)
Preheat the oven to 200cº. On an olive oiled baking tray, place your cod filets, Add a slice of Bengali lime to the top of the fish, put the rest in the baking tin. Season with salt and fresh dill. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes. 
Prepare a saucepan of salted boiling water, plunge the soba noodles into the water. Cook for five minutes then drain the noodles into a colander. Rinse with cold water.
Remove the roasted cod from the oven, reserving the liquid.
Plating: twirl the noodles in the centre of the plate, place the piece of cod on top. Ladle some of the bengali lime flavoured olive oil (the cooking juice) around the fish and noodles. 

Recent posts

Discovering fairytale Saxony in Germany

January 25, 2023

Fake meat taste test for Veganuary

January 8, 2023

A round-up of my favourite travel destinations of 2022

January 1, 2023

Previous Post: « Introduction to ingredients from Southern Africa
Next Post: Eggs and how to cook them »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. a little lusciousness

    March 19, 2014 at 3:30 pm

    Beautiful photos. We have some sort of citrus tree – it looks like it grows kumquats, but they are NOT edible (as several greedy people have found out!) They look pretty though!

    Rosie xx

    Reply
    • Kerstin Rodgers

      March 28, 2014 at 4:00 pm

      Have you found out what it is Rosie? I do remember some sort of decorative mini orange tree being sold around christmas, the fruit of which you couldn't eat, but I can't remember what it was called.

      Reply
  2. Ana

    April 2, 2014 at 5:03 pm

    I've got a thank you for spurring on a discussion about Bengali fruit which resulted in a gift of shakora and subsequently a delicious Bangladeshi shatkora and beef curry! Wahay! According to my Bengali friend (and also Rick Stein), shatkora is similar to grapefruit. Indeed, the specimen he gave me was. I used Rick's recipe for a beef shatkora curry, and it was amazing. Spicy, sour and fragrant, rather different from other curries I've made. We absolutely loved it. My new favourite!

    He said the above was a type of lemon, and they eat it chopped up in relishes/salads. There is also a smaller smoother-skin version which smells the same but is juicy. That one is used for juice.

    I see both the knobbly and the smooth version in my local stores often, and buy them to use instead of kaffir limes for making curry pastes! they smell a bit like kaffir lime leaves and it works.

    Reply
    • Kerstin Rodgers

      April 2, 2014 at 7:11 pm

      So the shakora and the knobbly lime/lemon are different? Any idea what the knobbly one is called?

      Reply
    • Anonymous

      April 4, 2014 at 1:07 pm

      Yes, they're definitely different. Here are some photos of shatkora. Mine looked just like the ripe one in the photo.
      The knobbly one is called jara lemon, and the smooth one lebu.

      Reply
    • Kerstin Rodgers

      April 4, 2014 at 2:48 pm

      Thanks Maninas, really useful. So Shatkora is a bit rounder, more grapefruit looking? And my big green knobbly one is called ghondaraj Jara?

      Reply
    • Anonymous

      April 11, 2014 at 2:17 pm

      Yeap. Shatkora also tastes a lot like grapefruit, but perhaps a touch sweeter.

      Reply
  3. Helen

    June 4, 2015 at 11:35 am

    I just bought a load of kalamansi limes back from Borneo. They're really tiny and really sweet with caramel coloured juice.

    Reply
    • Kerstin Rodgers aka MsMarmiteLover

      June 6, 2015 at 8:50 am

      Ooh that sounds gorgeous! I'd love to try one

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. New citrus recipes says:
    February 6, 2021 at 10:47 am

    […] High Road. The pith is incredibly thick. From February you can buy perfumed Bengali limes or ‘Gondhoraj Lebu’, large green knobbly citrus costing around £1.40 each from East London/Whitechapel ethnic […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

Subscribe to my mailing list

msmarmitelover

Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
Naples at Christmas- discovering piennolo di vesuv Naples at Christmas- discovering piennolo di vesuvio,the Christmas 🍅, which lasts up to a year fresh. It’s given boxed as gifts around Christmas being the only local fresh tomato available. It dresses all the Christmas pizzas and pastas. It’s grown on volcanic Vesuvius soil and sparsely watered. As a result it has thick skins, and a sweet intense flavour. #tomatoes #italy #naples
Not cooking much at the moment due to a thick laye Not cooking much at the moment due to a thick layer of dust over my kitchen. This will be my dining room/photography studio. Done on a whim.#unplanneddemolition
Another picture of my granddaughter Ophelia in a n Another picture of my granddaughter Ophelia in a nest of apricot tulle (found at portobello market). Isn’t she lovely? #granfluencer
Broccoli Stilton soup. This freezing week is defin Broccoli Stilton soup. This freezing week is definitely a week for soups. My friend @jimfrommanc is staying & needs his hot lunch.
Cheese on toast with crushed chilli 🌶️ in Ven Cheese on toast with crushed chilli 🌶️ in Venice the fresh food market sells bouquets of colourful chillies. I’ve still got mine, drying in an enamel jug. #travelandfood
The Christmas tomato or piennolo di vesuvio. Read The Christmas tomato or piennolo di vesuvio. Read all about it: https://msmarmitelover.com/2022/12/christmas-in-naples.html  Got a couple of bunches hanging in my kitchen. #naples #campania #tomatoes🍅 #travelphotography
Opheliagram. This morning I photographed her in an Opheliagram. This morning I photographed her in an Italian outfit I bought in Naples on a William Morris playmat which looks great and is practical for tummy time. So many things are different about parenting now. Parents use apps to track feeding, pooing, weeing etc. You don’t bathe them anymore for the first few weeks because you want to leave the vernix ( the white waxy stuff they are covered in at birth) on their skin as long as possible. Nappies now have a line on them that turns blue if they’ve done a pee. White noise apps to help them sleep. New technology guides new parents. As well as ancient probably prehistoric customs being rediscovered. #granfluencer #grandaughter I’ve tagged in @siennamarla and @jamescalmus as the authors of this baby.
I made two dishes from one pack of white beans las I made two dishes from one pack of white beans last night. Soak, then cook with 2 stock cubes, water & a fan of bay leaves. When soft & cooked, scoop some into a soup bowl with plenty of stock, add white wine, fresh basil and or a scoop of pesto and a squeeze of lemon for soupe au pistou. Garnish with Parmesan. Today I cooked the pot until the liquid had almost disappeared and added a block of feta. I baked this in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, added @pomoragoodfood new olive oil, salt and pepper for a gigantes plaki (but with smaller beans). Eat more beans!
What to make when you have lots of leftover egg yo What to make when you have lots of leftover egg yolks after making a pavlova? Zabaglione, that classic Italian trattoria dessert made from egg yolks, sugar & tons of masala sweet wine. Whisk it up over a bain-marie or be a bit cheaty & add a teaspoon of cornflour. Strong wrists needed. #italianfood #christmasdesserts #leftovers #cooksmart
The unpackaged vegan meats. My panel of 4 ( from c The unpackaged vegan meats. My panel of 4 ( from carnivore, to recent vegetarian, to long-time vegetarian to never eaten meat (my daughter)) tasted 18. It was quite a bushtucker trial. Carnivores & vegetarians liked very different things. Full report in next weeks @hamandhigh #veganuary #vegan #vegetarian #tastetest #fakemeat #plantbasedmeat
Fake meatathon tasting taking place as my veganuar Fake meatathon tasting taking place as my veganuary column for @hamandhigh So many companies doing this now. As a longtime vegetarian I don’t want anything that tastes too much like meat. But new vegetarians and vegans may want something that tastes close as damnit to meat in order to stave off cravings? Which category are you in? Have you any favourites or dislikes? Is this just another example of ultra-processed food? Let me know in the comments #vegan #vegetarian #meatfree #veganuary
Pasta buselli al cedro. Cedro or citron is a fragr Pasta buselli al cedro. Cedro or citron is a fragrant citrus & one of the founding citrus (along with pomelo and mandarin) that created all the other citrus fruits you know about. Usually candied, it is also used in this unusual neopolitan recipe in which you soak the zest in the pasta water overnight before cooking. Post up on the blog later today. Board a Xmas present from @siennamarla #pasta #naples #cedro #citrus
My london garden ce matin My london garden ce matin
My Sacher Torte (1 word or 2?) with a difference- My Sacher Torte (1 word or 2?) with a difference- bergamot marmalade in the middle. In the @hamandhigh this week. It’s bloody delicious. #chocolatecake #feelaustria #untoldstories #vienna #sachertorte
These are Mela Annurca apples, ‘mel’anurca’ These are Mela Annurca apples, ‘mel’anurca’ in Neapolitan dialect. They are a Christmas apple, in season now. I bought this little model basket of apples in San Gregorio di Armenia street in Naples where every year neopolitans buy something to add to their ‘presepe’ or nativity scene. Often scenes from markets to add to the expensive, anything from 500 euros to 5000 euros nativity crèches. Around Christmas this street is packed (watch out for pickpockets) with locals and tourist picking out their addition to the scene. Melanurca apples are picked in September then laid on the ground to ripen, turning them every day by hand, to ensure all sides transform from a yellow green into a Wicked Witch red. They are very healthy, particularly for your hair, according to scientists at the university of Naples. #naples #neopolitanchristmas #melanurca  #food #travel #sangregorioarmeno #presepenapoletano #nativityscenes
The Christmas tomato 🍅 or piennolo di vesuvio, The Christmas tomato 🍅 or piennolo di vesuvio, a local tomato that is sold around Christmas in Naples. It is grown with very little irrigation and lasts fresh up to a year. Hence it is used for tomato based Christmas dishes. This tomato has a thick skin and is really intense in flavour. It hangs outside grocers, on balconies, in kitchens, having been braided by ladies into bunches of 1.5 kilos. Each costs 15 euros. I went to visit the farmers and the ladies skilfully tying the tomatoes into clusters, using the vines to fasten them, like cherries. Boxed, these are given as gifts. Reel on the way! #naples #christmas #tomatoes #travel #food
Travel: how I pack. I choose one colour as well as Travel: how I pack. I choose one colour as well as black and white and stick to that palette. For Sicily & Naples I’m doing red, white & black. I’ve bought @coti_vision red glasses chain, a red beret & a black one, a pair of red @snagtights & a black pair, a red hair clasp, a red & white pair of shoes (25 euros, leather from Naples), a red & white dress, a black & white striped dress, and so on. Do you roll? Do you flatten & spread? Do you fold? How do you pack? A few days before I leave I leave my suitcase open in my bedroom and every time I think of something I need to take I sling it in there. ( like adaptors) Last thing is wash bag ( I have a hanging one which is useful) and coat (red for this trip). Basically I colour code my life. When I did the Camino everything was blue & yellow, the colours of the Camino. When I went to Ireland I took all my green clothes ( I don’t have many). If I go on a boat trip I pack blue and white. #packing #colourcoding #travel #mysuitcase
Ruota di pesce spada. A glorious oven baked Sicili Ruota di pesce spada. A glorious oven baked Sicilian fish dish, baked on onions, studded with garlic cloves wrapped in mint leaves, then more onions, capers, olives, oregano & rosemary. Use a thick central slice of swordfish (where can I get that in london?). I’m tasting grillo & Nero d’avola wines @tenutorapitala about an hour inland from Palermo. The owner is the last count Bernard de La gatinais. He has 3 daughters. He’s French (Brittany) and Sicilian. He spoke about how difficult it has been for wine growers since lockdown- so many restaurants closed. Now they are grappling with high energy & fuel costs. ##winesofsicilia #siciliaDOC #wine #travel #sicily
I love Venice. I love Maneskin. I love Italy. I lo I love Venice. I love Maneskin. I love Italy. I love boats and water. #biennalearte2022
London cure smoked salmon from @formanandfield wit London cure smoked salmon from @formanandfield with mikawa citrus (cross between mandarin & pomelo) and home pickled green peppercorns on a plate I bought in minori Italy. #londonfood #citrus #sundaylunch
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Archives

Copyright © 2023 msmarmitelover