Spicy Fish Curry with Coconut and Tamarind

Spicy Fish Curry with Coconut and Tamarind makes for a soul soothing weeknight dinner and can be made with any seafood you have at hand. There's nothing that seafood can't cure and this recipe is worth turning to! Its ready in under 30 minutes!

We are big fish eaters and fish and other seafood features on our tables at least 2-3 times a week. This spicy fish curry is a regular because the gravy is out of this world. It's a pulimunchi fish curry inspired thing. Pulimunchi basically means 'a gravy rich in tamarind juice' and that's basically what this spicy fish curry is.

Its tangy, spicy, sour, garlicky and has a very mild flavour from coconut. It's made to be served with ghee rice, coconut rice, idiyappam, appams and neer dosas - all the things that can soak up flavours from the fish curry. Which is why the gravy is the right amount of thin, but not so thin that its water.

Ingredients for Fish Curry

Here's everything that you need for this recipe:

Which fish to use?

Now we all know how much Denver loves his Surmai/ Seer Fish/ Anjal, which is why it features most often in our fish curries but you can just as well use any other fish you want. Mackerels work beautifully as do Pomfrets and I've even tried red snapper and prawns. You really need any firm fish for this recipe.

I also often grind a large batch of this masala and freeze it for later - do this before you cook the masala. This makes life so much easier when I need to throw something in and get dinner ready. While I love this curry mainly with seafood, I've used it with chicken too and guess what - it works!!

Step by Step Recipe

1 Saute onions, freshly grated coconut and dried kashmiri red chillies in some ghee or coconut oil till the onions and coconut are a light brown around the edges. Set this aside

2. In the same pan, dry roast whole spices, garlic pods, tamarind and curry leaves for a few minutes on a low flame. Be careful not to let the spices burn. You know they are done when they start smelling sweet and the aroma fills your kitchen

3-4 Blend the onion and spice mixture together with tomatoes and enough water required to make a really smooth paste

1 While the masala is being made, marinate the fish pieces in a little turmeric and salt and let this sit for 5-10 minutes. This gets rid of the fishy smell and adds flavour

2-3 Heat some coconut oil in a pot and add the ground masala. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and let the masala simmer for 10-15 minutes

4-5 Add the fish pieces and let them cook in the masala for 10 minutes. Some people like to fry the pieces before hand but I've never felt the need and my family prefers it this way. Pre-frying can over cook the fish and make it too tough

6 Make the tempering by heating up some coconut oil in a pan. Add mustard and whole smashed garlic pods (skin on). Once the garlic starts to brown, add curry leaves and fry for 30 seconds

7-8 Add the tempering back into the fish curry and mix it all up. Thats your flavour bomb right there!

9 Let the fish curry rest for a few minutes - trust me it gets better, before serving!

This is not for the faint hearted. But I bet even the faint hearted will be coming back for more!

Top Tips for Fish Curry

• Use freshly grated coconut as far as possible. If using frozen, look for freshly grated frozen coconut. This is different from dessicated coconut which won't work here
• Don't reduce the amount of garlic - that's where the flavour is
• Grind the masala to a really smooth paste. Start with a little water and then add more if required
• The consistency of the gravy should be thicker than milk - more like coconut milk
• You know the gravy is ready when you see bits of oil floating on top
• Oil: My choice of oil for this recipe is coconut oil, but a good replacement is ghee
• Fish: Choose any firm white fish. Seer, mackerel, pomfret, red snapper, cod, sea bass will all work well here
• Other proteins: Prawns, squid and even chicken work well with this gravy so throw in whatever you like. The cooking times for these will differ based on which protein you are using

Seafood Lover? Try these Recipes:

• Goan Prawn Curry with Coconut
• Prawn Rava Fry
• Teriyaki Shrimp
• Shrimp Sausage Gumbo
• Orange Mustard Salmon
• Salmon Piccata
• Fish in Basil Butter Sauce

Watch the Video

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Spicy Fish Curry with Coconut and Tamarind

An easy everyday Fish Curry with coconut and tamarind. This ones spicy, tangy, sour and bursting with flavour.

4.94 from 15 votes

Print Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: South Indian

Diet: Gluten Free

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 Portions

Calories: 381kcal

Author: Richa

Ingredients

Grind to a Paste

• ▢ ¾ cup freshly grated Coconut see note 1
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
• ▢ 2 medium Onions sliced
• ▢ 8 Kashmiri Red Chilies whole
• ▢ 1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
• ▢ 1 Teaspoon Coriander Seeds
• ▢ 6 Cloves Garlic
• ▢ 1 Teaspoon whole Peppercorns
• ▢ 1 Sprig Curry Leaves
• ▢ 1 Tamarind marble sized Ball
• ▢ 1 large Tomato cut into chunks
• ▢ ½ cup Water

For the Curry

• ▢ 600 Grams Seer Fish Surmai/Anjal/Kingfish
• ▢ 1 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
• ▢ 1 ½ Teaspoons Salt
• ▢ ½ Tablespoon Red Chilli Powder

For the Tempering

• ▢ 1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
• ▢ 6-8 Cloves Garlic with the skin on, smashed
• ▢ 1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
• ▢ 1 sprig Curry Leaves

Instructions

• Clean and wash the fish slices and rub turmeric all over them. Cover and keep aside. Marinate for 15 minutes.

Grind to a Paste

• Dry roast grated coconut in a frying pan over medium heat. Roast for 2-4 minutes or until the edges start to brown.
• Push the roasted coconut to one side of the pan. Add coconut oil on the other side and allow to heat for 10-15 seconds. Add onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Stir and mix well.
• Add dry red chillies and roast for another minute while stirring occasionally. Remove the mix from the pan and set aside to cool.
• In the same pan, dry roast mustard seeds, coriander seeds, garlic cloves and black peppercorn for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Add tamarind to the pan, saute for 30 secs and remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• Add both the roast mixes to a food processor or blender along with chopped tomatoes and water. Blend to a smooth thick paste.

For the Curry

• Heat coconut oil in a large pan or kadhai over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the ground paste and mix. Add salt, red chilli powder and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Slide the fish into the pan and mix gently so as not to break the fish. Simmer over medium heat for 10-12 minutes.
• Remove from flame. Prepare tempering, add it to the curry, mix and serve hot along with some white rice.

For the Tempering

• Heat coconut oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, add garlic and fry for 1-2 minutes or until the edges start to brown.
• Add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Allow the mustard seeds to splutter. Remove from flame and add it to the curry. Mix and serve hot.

Video

Notes

1. Use freshly grated coconut as far as possible. If using frozen, look for freshly grated frozen coconut. This is different from dessicated coconut which won't work here
2. Don't reduce the amount of garlic - that's where the flavour is
3. Grind the masala to a really smooth paste. Start with a little water and then add more if required
4. The consistency of the gravy should be thicker than milk - more like coconut milk
5. You know the gravy is ready when you see bits of oil floating on top
6. Oil: My choice of oil for this recipe is coconut oil, but a good replacement is ghee
7. Fish: Choose any firm white fish. Seer, mackerel, pomfret, red snapper, cod, sea bass will all work well here
8. Other proteins: Prawns, squid and even chicken work well with this gravy so throw in whatever you like. The cooking times for these will differ based on which protein you are using

Nutrition

Calories: 381kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 138mg | Potassium: 1169mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1293IU | Vitamin C: 140mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 3mg

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