In Kenya, that fish and fruit do not go well together has remained a belief of Italian holidaymakers à la Alberto Sordi. In fact, among Europeans, it was already the Portuguese who appreciated ‘fruits of the sea and of the plant’ (notes one of Vasco Da Gama's scribes) and the British who landed on the coast in the late 19th century did no less, combining exotic sweetness with saltiness and marinating fish and shellfish with sourness and citrus before cooking them.
If we add the pleasure of spices and chillies brought by the Arabs and Indians, Kenyan seafood recipes can be quite intriguing.
Such is the case with ‘spicy fish with mango sauce’, a tasty, fresh and evocative dish that combines the heat of a pinch marinade with the aftertaste of one of the sweetest and most celebrated fruits of the African equator. The ideal catch, in the case of the fillet, can be a grouper or snapper, which will be marinated in a mixture of spices and herbs, then pan-fried until golden brown and finally served with a mango sauce, in turn, seasoned with ‘kali’ spices.
This is how to blend flavours in a balanced and appealing way for a delicious dish.
 

Ingredients:

- 4 tilapia fillets or any other white fish
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika (Spanish paprika)
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- For the mango salsa
- 1 ripe mango, peeled and diced
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1/2 red pepper, diced
- 1 pilipili, finely chopped
- Juice of 1 lime
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Chopped fresh coriander for garnish

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, mix the chilli powder, coriander, cumin, sweet paprika, garlic, salt and pepper.
2. Rub the spice mixture on both sides of each fish fillet.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat.
4. Add the fish fillets to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side, or until the fish is cooked and crispy on the outside.
5. While the fish is cooking, prepare the mango sauce by mixing the mango, red onion, red pepper, pilipili, lime juice, salt and pepper in a bowl.
6. When the fish is ready, remove it from the pan and let it rest for a few minutes.
7. Serve the fish with the mango sauce and garnish with chopped coriander.