Baked or Grilled Spiced whole Fish

So, imagine I have already taken the Inca Trail.  I need a variation now – I need to see some water and along the way if possible some animals.  What better place to see that than in the African continent.  But yes, I am supposed to select “places” and not continents.  So I opt to visit the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.  I could also see the Victoria Falls from Zambia, but why miss the opportunity to see how a bad leader in power can bring one of the most successful African countries to its knees.  Why miss the opportunity to see how power can make some people blind to the woes of its citizens.

The Victoria Falls is the widest waterfall in the world.  I hear that from Victoria town which is in Zimbabwe, you can see the whole frontal beauty of this Falls with spectacular rainbows which are always present.  There are several activities that could be done as well over here like bungee jumping and rafting.  Now I am not a succor for thrill sports – so I would pass those.   But safaris are organized too and if I go to Africa and not take a safari that would be totally a waste.   So my itinerary would include a safari as well.  And of course I would like to do this with the whole family.  So this has to be second on my list so I can do it while the children are still young and do not mind travelling around with their parents.  Besides, a safari is always fun with children, don’t you think?

Preparation Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 kilo bream, carp or pomfret, cleaned and scaled if necessary

1 fresh red chili, seeded and ground

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1” piece ginger, peeled and sliced

4 spring onions (scallions), chopped

Juice of ½ lemon

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

Method:

1. Rinse the fish and dry it well inside and out with absorbent kitchen paper.  
2. Slash two or three times through the fleshy part on each side of the fish.  
3. Place the chili, garlic, ginger and spring onions in a food processor and blend to a paste.  
4. Add the lemon juice and salt and then stir in the oil.  
5. Spoon a little of the mixture inside the fish and pour the rest over the top.  Turn the fish to coat it completely in the spice mixture and leave to marinate for at least 1 hour.  
6. Preheat the grill.  Place a long strip of double foil under the fish to support it and to make turning it over easier.  Put on a rack in a grill pan and cook under the hot grill for 5 minutes on one side and 8 minutes on the second side.  Serve hot with bread or rice.