Fish is cooked in a savoury sauce in the delicious and fragrant dish known as fish curry. Due to its rich and tangy flavours, it is a common meal in many coastal areas of the world. Depending on the materials used and the culinary customs of various civilizations, fish curry recipes might range significantly.The creation of the dish usually begins by choosing fresh fish, such as salmon, tilapia, cod, or snapper, which are frequently used in fish curry dishes. The fish is then marinated in a mixture of spices, which, depending on the recipe, may contain turmeric, chilli powder, coriander, cumin, ginger, garlic, and other fragrant herbs and spices. The curry sauce is made by sautéing a variety of onions, tomatoes, and different spices in oil until the ingredients are fragrant and thoroughly cooked. To give this base a creamy and tangy flavour profile, substances like coconut milk or tamarind paste are frequently used. The marinated fish is carefully added to the simmering curry sauce once it is ready and cooked until it is soft and has absorbed the flavours of the spices and aromatics. Depending on the fish’s type and size, the cooking time may change. Fish curry is frequently eaten with steamed rice, bread, or roti so that the flavorful sauce can be absorbed. This meal is adaptable and may be made to suit various palates by varying the amount of spice, creaminess, or sourness.
Fish Curry
Prep time: 10-15 minutes Cooking time: 30-35 minutes Serves: 4 people
What’s up guys you are Welcome to my new blog, Today, I’m making Goan Fish Curry. It’s been a very long time since we made a fish recipe on my kitchen There were a lot of requests & I thought
what could be better than Goan Fish Curry. This fish curry is very famous & even I personally really love it.
Now there are different varieties of fish curries that are made in Goa, coz there are different communities in Goa. Now the fish curry made with Hooman, that is basically made by Saraswat Brahmin community.
1 important thing is that onion & garlic is not used as Saraswat Brahmins don’t cook with onions & garlic. So there is no onion or garlic used in this fish curry. The rest of the preparation is quite simple.
& the Catholics/Christians use the onion & garlic, so that’s one major difference.
Other than that, kokum (mangosteen) or tamarind is used for sourness, & sometimes even vinegar is used. Different types of vinegars are used. So, that’s another difference. One main thing about Goan Fish Curry is that the paste of fish curry is not sautéed in the oil. So oil is not used. Directly water is added to the paste & boiled & cooked nicely, & then fish is directly added to it & cooked. So this is how Goan Fish Curry is made.
Today, Fish Curry that I’m making, I’m going to use onion & garlic as I really like that flavour in Goan Fish Curry. If you want to make it Hooman style then don’t use onion & garlic in this recipe. The rest of the process will be exactly the same.
Ingredients For Fish Curry
- KINGFISH |4 PIECES
- SALT TO TASTE
- COCONUT1 NO. / 1 CUP PACKED (SCRAPED)
- KASHMIRI RED CHILLI 4-5 NOS.
- CORIANDER SEEDS 1 TBSP
- BLACK PEPPERCORNS 7-8 NOS. (OPTIONAL)
- CUMIN SEEDS 1/2 TSP
- GARLIC 5-6 CLOVES
- GINGER 1 INCH
- TAMARIND MARBLE SIZED BALL
- TURMERIC POWDER 1/2 TSP
- WATER AS REQUIRED
- ONION 1 SMALL. (CHOPPED)
- SALT A PINCH
- WATER AS REQUIRED
- GREEN CHILLI 1-2 NO. (SLIT)
- KOKUM 3-4 PIECES.
- TRIPHAL 1/4 TSP
- SALT TO TASTE
How To make Fish curry
It’s a very simple process. You just have to make a paste for the curry. Let’s learn how Goan Fish Curry is made.
Prepare Fish
Marinate Fish
Let’s marinate the fish first. Here I have 4 slices of King Fish. It is about 400-500 grams of fish. Salt the fish nicely. So apply salt on both sides nicely. You can also apply turmeric powder along with the salt, this is completely optional.
Once you have applied the salt, then let the fish marinate on a side while you make the other preparation. So, the marination process for the fish is very simple. You just have to salt the fish. You can add a pinch of turmeric as well so that when you poach it in the broth, it will get a nice yellow orange tinge.
Once you have marinated the fish, then you have to do the further process.
I’ve used King Fish. In Goa, Mackerel is also commonly used & when it is made with Mackerel, it is called Bangdya chi Hooman Now, you can use Mackerel or Pomfret too. Use whichever fish that you like. Usually salt water fish is used. It’s flavour is really good in this fish curry.
Today, I’ve used King Fish, coz I really like King fish. My dad actually loves mackerel but today, I’m cooking my choice. You can use the fish of your choice & the rest of the process will be the same.
Now, the next process is that we have to prepare the paste for Goan Fish Curry. It is an easy process, let’s learn it.
Make Masala Paste
Here, I have 1 cup scraped & grated coconut. I have scraped I coconut here. The quantity is I packed cup of coconut. Transfer it to a mixer grinding jar. along with it 4-5 dried Kashmiri red chillies, 1 tbsp whole coriander seeds, 7-8 whole black peppercorns, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 5-6 cloves of garlic, 1 inch ginger, marble sized ball of tamarind, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, & add very little water to prepare a fine paste.
While making the paste, if you feel like adding more water, then you can add more water. Make it a point to prepare a fine paste. Regarding the spices that I’ve added, some people
don’t add cumin seeds or black peppercorns, Each recipe is slightly variable. I usually
add both cumin seeds & black peppercorns.
So I’ve added some more water & prepared a fine paste. how beautiful the colour is. Similarly you have to prepare a fine paste. So we’ve prepared the fish curry paste for Goan Fish curry. how easy it is to make.
You can make a larger quantity of this paste & freeze it in batches. So, it’s easy that once the prep is done, just take it from freezer, thaw it & boil it with water, add fish & the curry is ready.
The paste that we’ve made today will help you make 500-750 grams of any fish of your choice. Now, our curry paste is ready.
Let me tell you a few things about this curry paste. Firstly, the colour is due to the chilli used. We have used Kashmiri dried red chilli. Now traditionally Kashmiri red chillies aren’t used. Goan chillies like Aldona chilli or Button chillies are used. So, traditionally those chillies are used. It’s easier to find Kashmiri dried red chillies as compared tuogoan chillies, & so I’ve used them. If you find them, use them. You can even use Bydagi chillies, if you find them. You can even replace the chillies with that variety of the chilli. So, that’s about the chillies.
Secondly, sometimes, even the onions are ground with the paste at this stage. I will mix the onions with salt & then add to the curry later. I like that texture a lot. So, I’m adding the onions separately. If you want you can add 1/2-1 small onion while grinding itself.
Thirdly, when you eat this curry in restaurants, you will notice that it’s a silky smooth curry, For that, after making this paste, it is strained with a muslin cloth. then more water is added, ground & strained again.
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So you get a smooth flavoured coconut milk. & then that is cooked & the fish is cooked in it to get a silky smooth curry. In some restaurants they even add cornstarch to thicken it but that’s not the right way to do it. The right way is once you have made the paste like this, then we will add the water to this as well as the fish to it.
That’s why it is essential to grind it finely at this stage. That’s why add little by little water & grind it. Keep in mind that the paste doesn’t heat up while grinding otherwise the coconut will split & oil releases, So make a note of that.
So, I’ve told you all the details about the paste. Some people make coconut milk separately, so to make it richer, you can add some coconut milk at the end. So these are all the details about the curry paste.
The next step is the small process of onions & then let’s see what is the quick process to make the curry.
Here, I have taken a small chopped onion. Add a pinch of salt to it. Massage it nicely with the salt so that the moisture is released from the onion. Some people also add a pinch of sugar to it. You can add it if you want. This is how you have to prepare the onions & keep them aside. You can even use sliced onions instead of chopped onions.
How To make Fish Curry
Now for the final process of Fish Curry, I’ve taken an earthen pot. Traditionally this fish curry is made in earthen pot. So, add the onions that we prepared in this vessel, along with that add the fish curry paste that we had prepared. For the paste stuck to the jar, add some water & use that too, to avoid any wastage.
Even after adding some water to it, the consistency is appearing thick, so add some more water to it. You need the consistency of a thin curry. So, you may need about 1.5-2 litres of water in this.
You may have noted that we have not used any oil as traditionally oil is not used in Goan Fish Curry. Cook this curry nicely for 8-10 minutes. Cook this curry nicely, until it comes to a good boil. After 8-10 minutes, you will see that the curry is boiling nicely.
At this stage, you have to add 1-2 slit green chillies to it, & I’m adding 3-4 pieces of dried kokum (mangosteen) to it. It will give a nice sour taste to the curry. It is very important to add kokum to this Goan Fish Curry.
It’s okay if you don’t add tamarind in the beginning, but adding kokum is very essential. At this stage, I’m going to cook the curry for 8-10 minutes.
Now sometimes what happens is that people add kokum at the end as they don’t need a heavy flavour of kokum. As I really like the kokum flavour, I added it half way during cooking the curry.
If you want you can add it in the end along with the fish. So cook the curry for 8-10 minutes after adding the kokum. You will see that after 8-10 minutes, our curry is cooked even further & has slightly reduced too & has thickened.
Here, add the fish which we had salted earlier. Carefully add the fish. After adding the fish, we will not stir the curry at all. Now, on the other side, what I’m doing is, I have 1/4th tsp Triphal, It is a type of Sichuan Pepper corn. You have to lightly crush it. So crush it coarsely like this. & then add it like this.
Triphal gives an exquisite taste in Goan Fish Curry. Now, some people add Triphal & some don’t. But when Bangda fish is used, it has a heavy fishy smell & the Triphal helps balance the smell to a great extent. & when garlic & ginger is not used then Triphal adds a nice flavour profile to the curry.
So it is completely optional, but I really like Triphal, so I’ve added it here. After adding the Triphal,
like I said that you don’t have to stir the curry, So, what I’m doing here is taking a tea towel, I’m lifting the cooking pot & swirling it around like this.
So that the fish & curry mix together but the fish does not disintegrate. This is how you have to carefully mix the curry. Here, I’m tasting the curry for seasoning. I’ll taste it & adding the salt here.
I didn’t add any salt earlier as the fish was salted. Adjust the salt & once the salt is added,
similarly swirl it again.
Once you have added everything, then you have to cook the fish for 8-10 minutes. The fish slices that I’m using today are quite big so it will take 8-10 minutes. But if you have smaller pieces, then
the fish will be cooked even in 6-7 minutes.
You have to keep in mind, not to overcook the fish, otherwise it will become mushy & dry. Cook the fish enough so that it’s just cooked so that it’s tender & you will enjoy eating the fish curry.
It’s been 8-10 minutes & you will see that the consistency of our fish curry has become perfect. Even our fish is perfectly cooked. Our fish curry is almost ready. I’m just tasting it in the end.
Taste it & see if you feel you need to adjust the salt, you can do so. & you will see that our delicious Goan Fish Curry is ready.
So our delicious Fish curry is ready. We still have to plate it so wait a minute. I’m going to serve this with Goan Red Rice. Now traditionally Goans eat red rice. Since I was found it locally, I’ve cooked them.
You can even eat it with normal steamed rice. This curry tastes great with rice. This curry is also eaten with Pav or Poi. Poi is a type of Goan bread. It has a slightly different texture than the regular Pav, but tastes really good. Enjoy it with Pav or Poi the next day. It is called Kalchi Kodhi, meaning yesterday’s curry. & it’s flavour is enhanced even more & it tastes even better the next day especially when eaten with Pav.
So, I’ve kept the rice ready. I don’t have Poi today, so if the curry is remaining, I’ll have it with Pav tomorrow. It will taste really delicious. So, our entire setup is ready. Let’s plate our Goan Fish Curry
The Goan Fish Curry has turned out to be mind blowing. & it was such a fun making this recipe. It’s so simple. Usually we make a big deal of this recipe. But it’s preparation is so simple & it gets ready so easily & ingredients are easily available too.
So definitely make this recipe. & if you are from Goa then tell me how did you like this recipe. I’m sure this curry is made very differently in different households.
I’ve researched it quite a bit & asked a lot of Goan people about the curry. & only then I’ve finally mastered the curry & I usually make it at home too. with some of my own edits to it & it turns out really delicious. So do try this recipe & let me know in the comments how did you like this recipe.
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