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.
Quick Walk Through: Fish Curry
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.
Freezing this fish curry masala
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
This is such a simple yet heartwarming meal and is perfect for weeknight dinners as well as leisurely weekend lunches. I usually serve this with steamed basmati rice and a salad for a quick and wholesome meal. Be sure to make extras as this one disappears really fast!
Watch the Video
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Spicy Fish Curry with Coconut and Tamarind
Ingredients
Grind to a Paste
- ยพ 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
- ยฝ cup Water
For the Curry
- 600 Grams Seer Fish Surmai/Anjal/Kingfish
- 1 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
- 1 ยฝ Teaspoons Salt
- ยฝ 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 sautรฉ 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
- 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
Kanchan says
One of the best fish curries that I have made or tasted! I made it with white pompfret. Quite easy to make and yum!
Richa Gupta says
White pomfret is melt-in-your-mouth good! Sounds yum, Kanchan! Thanks:)
sohbet says
you feel like nusr-et te i tried this while eating and it is very successful
Richa Gupta says
Yayyy! Thanks Sohbet, glad you liked our fish curry recipe
Tom says
Fantastic recipe; I don't think I have ever had a better fish curry. I used freshly caught Kingfish and home grown hot chillies and garlic and the blend of flavours was perfect. Excellent addition to the repertoire.
Richa says
Thank you so much Tom! So glad you liked it
Yolanda says
Can I use coconut milk instead of grated coconut?
Richa says
Sure
Tania Rodrigues says
Perfect kingfish curry, we all relished it
Richa says
So glad you all liked it Tania
Karishma Lopes says
Todayโs dinner was this awesome fish curry. I used Indian Salmon instead of King Fish. My family loved it!
Richa says
So happy you liked the recipe Karishma! Thank you for leaving a comment
veronika says
Hi,
Thanks for the recipe, please keep posting and give such amazing recipe ideas.
Lydia says
You seem to have forgotten jeers in the receptor.
Richa says
Sorry I don't understand. There's no jeera in the recipe.
Sana Jinabade says
Wow amazing dish . And photography is also amazing
Abhinav says
Really this recipe is wonderful. I tried this recipe at home. By this recipe style, I'm also interested in cooking. Such an awesome recipe.
Asmita says
Didn't like it... ๐ I don't think it's wise to grind the onion and tomato. Was like fish in chutney base!!
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Wg Cdr P N Paralkar (Retd) says
Hi Richa, I enjoyed making seer fish as per your recipe. It turned out awesome.Usually I don't like Onions and Tomatoes in fish curry but I found it very tasty. The only change I made was to put a bit of jaggery while making the curry with the ingredients you have in your recipe. I found that abit of sweetness enhances the taste .Try it !!๐
Richa says
Thank you so much for your feedback. I'm glad you liked it.
Githin says
I tried this out.. the onion in the mix is an absolute no no.. would suggest to saute the onion and tomato in oil before grinding to paste
Richa says
Hey Githin, we prefer it this way, but cooking the onion and tomato in oil will also work well!
Jeff says
Thanks! Just found your blog and made this. So delicious!
Richa says
Yay! Glad you liked it ๐