Go Back
+ servings
Keralan fish curry in balti dish with rice and naan bread

Keralan Fish Curry

By: Deborah
An amazing fish curry that is so full of flavour, warmth and spice. Enjoy with your choice of sides.
PREP: 20 minutes
COOK: 30 minutes
TOTAL: 50 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 6 people
PRINT RECIPE PIN RECIPE

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp groundnut oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 20 curry leaves
  • 6 shallots finely sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic finely sliced
  • 1 fresh green chilli finely sliced (see Notes)
  • 2.5cm piece of ginger finely sliced
  • 1 tbsp chilli powder I use hot chilli powder
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 750 g (1.7 lb) firm white fish cut into chunks, eg: cod, cod cheeks, haddock, basa, monkfish, monkfish cheeks
  • 400 g (14 oz) tin light coconut milk
  • 400 g (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • a few sprigs of fresh coriander leaves only, chopped

To serve (optional):

  • basmati rice
  • naan bread
  • poppadom crisps
  • mango chutney

Instructions

  • Heat the groundnut oil in a large saucepan on a high heat, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves and cook until the seeds start to pop (about 1 to 2 minutes).
  • Add the shallot, garlic, chilli and ginger, and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes, or until softened.
  • Mix the chilli powder and turmeric together with a splash of water, and stir into the pan. Fry for 1 minute, then add the fish, coconut milk and tomatoes.
  • Season, bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes, or until the fish is cooked and the sauce has reduced.
  • Garnish with the chopped coriander leaves and serve with your choice of optional sides.

Notes

  • Make ahead – the curry can easily be made ahead a couple of days and kept in an airtight container in the fridge until you’re ready to reheat it on the hob.
  • Green chilli – when reducing the recipe to make it for the 2 of us, I used a small green finger chilli and left the seeds in. I was expecting it to make the curry pretty hot, along with the hot chilli powder, but the end result was a nice heat that was full of flavour.
  • This keralan fish curry recipe is easily adapted if you’re cooking for less or more people – when I made it the first time, I divided the ingredients by 3 and used 250g cod cheeks, to feed the 2 of us.

 

You might also like to try:

Nutrition

Calories: 226kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 246mg | Potassium: 575mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 801IU | Vitamin C: 141mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

KEYWORDS basa, cod, cod cheeks, curry, firm white fish, fish curry, haddock, Jamie Oliver, monkfish, monkfish cheeks
Tried this recipe?Please consider Leaving a Review!