There are dishes that travel well, and kedgeree is one of them — which is appropriate, given that it has been travelling for centuries. It started life as khichdi, a spiced rice and lentil dish from the Indian subcontinent, was adopted and adapted by British colonials in India, crossed the sea to Scotland and England in the kit bags of returning soldiers and East India Company men, and became a fixture of the Victorian breakfast sideboard. This is my kedgeree recipe — and it has ended up, as so many things do, in a kitchen in rural Jaén.

Smoked haddock is the traditional fish for kedgeree, and if you can find it, use it. I never have — not in rural Jaén, not on the road through Andalucía, Extremadura or the Asturian coast. It may exist somewhere in Spain, but it hasn't crossed my path. Smoked trout is what I use, and it isn't a compromise. It's delicate, properly smoky, and flakes cleanly into the rice in a way that feels entirely right.

From Khichdi to Kedgeree — A Dish That Crossed Continents

Kedgeree's story begins long before the British got hold of it. Khichdi — a simple, sustaining combination of rice and lentils cooked with spices — is one of the oldest dishes in South Asian cooking, documented as far back as the 14th century by the traveller Ibn Battuta, and referenced in Mughal empire texts. It was comfort food in the truest sense: easy to make, easy to digest, deeply familiar.

When the East India Company established itself in India in the 17th and 18th centuries, khichdi was among the dishes that British traders and soldiers encountered and began to adapt. The lentils gradually disappeared. Boiled eggs arrived. Smoked fish — abundant and practical — replaced the pulses entirely. The spicing shifted to suit European palates, though it never disappeared.

The first known written recipe in Britain appears in the household book of Stephana Malcolm of Burnfoot, Dumfriesshire, begun in 1790. Malcolm spent most of her life in rural southern Scotland, but her brother John rose to become Governor of Bombay through the East India Company — and it was almost certainly through him that kedgeree, and dishes like mulligatawny soup, made their way into her kitchen. Her recipe is striking in its simplicity: cold boiled haddock or cod, hard-boiled eggs minced through the rice, warmed in butter, seasoned with nothing but cayenne. No curry powder, no lemon, no onion. Just the bones of the dish.

By the Victorian era, kedgeree had become something grander — a breakfast staple for the upper and middle classes, enriched with cream, thickened with curry powder, piled onto the sideboard alongside kidneys and devilled bones. It was, by then, very far from khichdi. But the lineage is unbroken.

My version sits somewhere between Malcolm's austere original and the Victorian elaboration — a homemade garam masala in place of commercial curry powder, freshly ground cardamom for brightness, and a pinch of cayenne at the end in deliberate tribute to 1790.

Why Smoked Trout Works

Smoked haddock has a particular quality — firm, flaky, with a clean smoke that doesn't overpower — and smoked trout is the closest thing to it that I can reliably find in Spain. I've used it before in Smoked Trout Fish Cakes and it holds its own. This kedgeree recipe works because smoked trout brings the right balance of smoke and delicacy.

If you want something bolder, smoked mackerel works — oilier and stronger, but not wrong. Smoked haddock, if you can find it, is the classic choice and will give you the most traditional result.

The Rice — Why Basmati

Basmati is the right rice for this kedgeree recipe. Long, separate grains that don't clump, with a gentle fragrance that works with the spices rather than against them. Cook it until just tender, drain it well, and it will absorb the spiced butter without turning heavy. For a full guide to rice varieties and which to use when, see Types of Rice — A Cook's Guide to Every Variety.

Kedgeree Recipe with Smoked Trout

Serves 1 | Saucepan | Prep 10 mins | Cook 20 mins | Total 30 mins

Ingredients

• 120g smoked trout fillet, skin removed, flaked
• 75g basmati rice
• 2 eggs, hard-boiled
• 50g frozen peas, defrosted
• 15g butter
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 tbsp homemade garam masala
• ½ tsp freshly ground cardamom
• Cayenne pepper, to taste
• ½ lemon, juice only
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• Salt to taste

Method

1. Cook the basmati in well-salted water until just tender. Drain, rinse briefly with boiling water, and set aside.
2. Hard-boil the eggs for 10 minutes. Cool under cold water, peel, and quarter. Set aside.
3. Heat the sunflower oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook gently for 8–10 minutes until soft and beginning to colour.
4. Add the butter. Once melted, add the ground cardamom and let it sizzle for 30 seconds. Add the garam masala, stir for another 30 seconds — keep it moving and don't let it catch.
5. Add the cooked rice and fold through the spiced butter until every grain is coated. Warm through for 2–3 minutes over a low heat.
6. Add the flaked smoked trout and the peas, and fold in gently. You want texture — don't work it into a paste.
7. Add a pinch of cayenne, squeeze over the lemon juice, and taste for salt.
8. Fold through most of the parsley. Turn out onto a warm plate, arrange the quartered eggs on top, scatter the remaining parsley, and serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

• The onion isn't in Malcolm's 1790 original, but it's been part of kedgeree since the Victorian versions and it earns its place — it builds a sweetness that balances the spice.
• Bloom the cardamom before the garam masala. The whole-ground spice can take a little more heat; the garam masala is more complex and will turn bitter if it catches.
• The cayenne at the end is a deliberate nod to Stephana Malcolm's recipe. It was her only spice.
• Smoked mackerel works as an alternative to smoked trout — bolder and oilier, but not wrong.

Serving Suggestions

This kedgeree recipe is breakfast, brunch, lunch or supper — it doesn't much care. A spoonful of mango chutney on the side is not strictly traditional, but it's very good.

Footnote

This kedgeree recipe is part of my Scottish Recipes collection — dishes rooted in Scotland's long culinary tradition. It also features in my Rice Recipes collection — a global collection of rice dishes from paella to pilau, and in my Fish & Seafood Recipes collection — fish and seafood dishes from the coast and the kitchen at Casa Adora. It also appears in my Gut Health Recipes collection — real food from a rural Andalucían kitchen, built around fermented foods, high-fibre pulses, wholegrains and prebiotic-rich ingredients.

Find more recipes and food adventures here.

Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef