Fish in a Coconut Curry

Fish in a coconut curry

This is my short cut easy version of the famous Goan Caldin Fish Curry. It's a very versatile curry that can be adapted to make it a vegetable, chicken or an egg curry. 

No grinding involved here. The process is simple and quick to make in a hurry. Goes extremely well with kids who love its mild flavour. You can always bump up the spice by adding more green chillies or more chilli powder. But I love this mild curry for its simplicity.

Fish in a coconut curry

Ingredients:
3 large pieces ( 1kg) of boneless fish fillets cut into cubes

Marinade for the fish:
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
1/4 tsp of kashmiri chilli powder
salt to taste

Ingredients for the curry:
2 small onions chopped fine
1 tomato chopped fine
1 tbsp of ginger garlic paste
2  whole green chillies slit
salt to taste
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
1 1/4 tsp of coriander powder
1 tsp of cumin powder
1/2 tsp of curry powder (not traditional but helps give this curry an extra boost of flavour)
1/4 tsp of kashmiri chilli powder (kashmiri chilli powder is known more for its colour and is not as spicy as regular chilli powder)
4-5 pieces of kokum (dried berry fruit - you can use tamarind as a substitute)
10 tbsps of coconut powder (reconstituted into milk by adding 1 cup of room temperature water)

Method:
 Cut the fish into medium sized cubes. Season with salt and an additional 1/4 tsp each of turmeric powder and chilly powder. Reserve while you work on your curry.

In a casserole, heat oil. Use coconut oil for maxium flavour. Add your chopped onions and kokum. Add the whole slit green chillies and all the spice powders.. ie. turmeric, coriander, cumin, curry and kashmiri chilli powder. Fry on a gentle heat so as not to burn the spices. Add a dash of water if you feel its getting too dry. 

Once nicely sauteed, add your reconstitued coconut milk. Season with salt. Remember to add a little less salt than usual as you have already added salt to the fish when marinating. Let the mixture simmer on a low heat. Boiling the coconut milk can cause it to split. In about 10 mins the curry shoul d be cooked. 

Drop the fish cubes inside. Fish in curries should never be kept for longer than 7 mins to keep its texture. Time your fish. Once the 7 mins are over, check again for seasoning and serve hot with steaming white rice. 

Tip: There are a lot of varieties you can experiment with for souring this dish. I've used kokum, but you can also use green mango or tamarind paste or extract. 

Tip: This dish is typically made with the Indian silver pomfret which brings out the best flavour of this dish.

Fish in a coconut curry