Simple Fish Curry

Simple hearty fish curry. Goan style.

I could never really enjoy fish curries in India, they were either too smelly for my taste or the consistency (usually too thin) would be my problem. But the aroma and taste are still fresh in my memory.

When it came to cooking fish in India, I chickened out of cutting and cleaning fish each time 😛 Fast forward to the US and I discovered fresh clean fillets of fish on the shelves! Enter the discovery of Chaokoh coconut milk and voila, I had my recipe. The simplest yet heartiest fish curry, you will ever make. From my memory this tastes like most Goan fish curries I have managed to try, however don’t want to misbrand it.
You will need:
Tilapia Fillets (2) cut into pieces, washed and dried
The trick for making sure your fish is not smelly is to follow the following procedure:

1. Apply turmeric to the filets and let it rest for 5 min

2. Wash the fillets under cold running water (smell this, you will see it will smell significantly cleaner)

For the marinade:

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp turmeric Powder

1 tsp corriander powder

salt

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/4 tsp garam masala
For curry:

For the curry:

1/3-1/2 cup coconut milk

finely chopped onion, 1

Finely chopped tomato, 1

gignger-garlic paste, 1/4+ tsp

cloves (2) , peppercorns (6) , cinnamon (2, 1/4 inch sticks)

1/2 tsp turmeric Powder

2+ tsps corriander powder

salt

1/2 tsp chilli powder (or more!)

1/4 tsp garam masala

1 tsp+ tamarind chutney (please do not use the store bought chutney that has cumin in it, that will completely change the tatse profile of this curry) OR 2-3 amsul OR 1/2 tsp lemon juice

• marinate fish in lemon juice, salt, turmeric, garam masala, corriander powder and chilli powder.
• heat oil and fry cloves, cinnamon sticks, and peppercorns
• add ginger-garlic paste and onions.. fry till well-cooked and almost about to brown.
• add the chopped tomatoes
• add salt, chilli powder, turmeric, corriander powder a pinch of garam masala, and fry till oil separates
• add coconut milk, and amsul/tamarind water (s much as you want until you get the desired consistency, I like a slightly thicker creamier curry, but this is usually quite thin originally).
• taste, add a pinch of sugar (especially if you used amsul/ lemon juice instead of the tamarind chutney) if needed and salt.
• bring to a boil.
• add fish pieces and cook for 5 min – The fish pieces should become opaque and white, and should flake off when you cut a piece.

• remove from heat and add chopped fresh cilantro
  -Serve hot with plain rice, fish fry on the side and some sol kadhi 🙂