“Once you’ve tried this South Indian seasoning – blitzed coconut, chilli, mint, garlic and lime – you’ll be putting it on absolutely everything: white fish, chicken, paneer, roasted veg,” says Rukmini Iyer.

Here it seasons a salmon and cherry tomato traybake, forming a crust for the salmon and a wonderful flavouring for the roasted tomatoes and onions.

Rukmini Iyer’s chilli, coconut and lime salmon recipe

Prep: 10 minutes. Cook: 25 minutes

Ingredients(Serves: 2)

4tbsp desiccated coconut1 fresh red chilliHandful mint leaves, plus extra to serve2 cloves garlicJuice of 2 limes1 red onion, thinly sliced250g vine cherry tomatoes, halved2 sustainable salmon fillets2tbsp neutral or olive oil1tsp sea salt flakes

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas 6.

2. Tip the coconut, chilli, mint leaves, garlic, lime juice, one tablespoon of the oil and the sea salt into a spice grinder or high-speed blender/Nutribullet and blitz roughly until the chilli looks evenly incorporated through the coconut (you’ll have a reddish, greenish rubble).

3. Mix the sliced onion and cherry tomatoes in a medium roasting tin along with the remaining oil. Make space for the two salmon fillets, place them in the tin, skin side down, then pat a tablespoon of the coconut-chilli mixture evenly over each fillet. Scatter the remaining mixture over the onions and tomatoes.

4. Transfer to the oven to roast for 20–25 minutes until the salmon is cooked through. Scatter with mint leaves and serve hot, with rice alongside if you wish.

Notes: You can substitute the salmon for cod, haddock or another firm-fleshed white fish – it’ll take about the same time to cook. To carb it up in the same tin, start by roasting off cubed sweet potato with a little olive oil and salt in your roasting tin for 30 minutes, before continuing with the recipe as above.

India Express: Fresh And Delicious Recipes For Every Day by Rukmini Iyer is published by Square Peg, priced £22, photography by David Loftus. Available now.