Kerala Fish Curry

Kerala Fish Curry is a mild and delicate curry, perfect to eat at anytime of year, but especially in summer. It's light, fragrant and fresh with sweet, sour and tangy undertones. Plump juicy fish covered in thick and luscious creamy coconut curry sauce.

Course Dinner

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Servings people

Calories 460kcal

Author Kim

Ingredients

1.2 kg firm white fish 2 ½ pounds
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium Brown onions roughly chopped
1 medium Red and Green Capsicum roughly chopped
2 long Red Chillies sliced (the ones that aren’t too hot)
3 teaspoons Freshly grated ginger
2 teaspoons Crushed garlic
2 x 400 ml tin coconut cream about 3 cups
2 tablespoons tamarind paste/puree
½ of a Chicken stock cube

Other

3 cups Cooked rice
¼ cup Shallots and coriander to garnish

Instructions

Chop fish into bite sized chunks ( about 2cm by 2cm). Add fish pieces, ½ teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of turmeric to a large bowl and mix together gently until the fish is coated with the salt and turmeric. Fish will go a little yellow, that’s OK.
Heat the oil in a large non stick pan on medium high heat, and add roughly chopped onions and capsicums (peppers). Stir for a few minutes until they have just softened.
Add the chillies into the pan, along with the grated ginger, garlic, ground cumin, and remaining turmeric. Let cook for a couple of minutes, turning gently with a spoon.
Add the coconut cream to the pan, stirring through for 1 minute. Add the tamarind paste, and crumble the (half) stock cube in. Stir until heated through (but not bubbling)
Add the fish pieces and cook for a few minutes, or until they turn white and tender.
Serve straight away with your choice of rice.

Notes

Fish: Any firm white fish will suit this recipe. I used Kingfish which was perfect. Other varieties that would work well include barramindi, sweetlip, cod, snapper, sea bass, and halibut.
Tamarind Paste/Tamarind Puree: These are the same thing. Tamarind paste/puree is widely used in many Asian dishes and its known for its tart, sweet and sour taste. It forms the basis of this dish. Find this in the Asian aisle of Coles and Woolworths in Australia. Otherwise you can buy it online, in health food shops and specialty Asian shops if you have one close by.
Ginger and Garlic: I use the crushed garlic and ginger in a jar for convenience. Of course, fresh works too.
Tumeric: This is what gives the fish its beautiful golden colour
Chillies: Make sure to choose the long red chillies – these are the ones that aren’t too hot when you remove the seeds. Long red or green chillies would work, or a combination of both. I recommend taking the seeds out of the chillies as this is a delicate curry and doesn’t need a lot of heat.
Coconut Cream: Buy the best quality coconut cream you can find as this does make a difference. You want the rich creamy almost velvet quality of the coconut milk.
Chicken Stock Cube: half a stock cube is all you need to punch up the flavour of this curry. Using a whole one would be too much. Chicken stock powder could be used instead. If using this, I recommend ½ teaspoon.

Nutrition