Goan Fish Curry

A decadent dish from the west coast of India. The tender fish is cooked in coconut, chilli and the infamous peppercorn paste. This fish curry has intricate flavours, yet it's easy and only takes a few minutes over the stove. The combination of creamy coconut milk and earthy peppercorn creates a beautiful balance of flavour. Hints of Kashmiri chilli and the caramelized onions leave a soft tone of sweet and spicy. If there is any fish curry to go crazy for, this is it. The Goan Fish Curry must be tasted by anyone who loves a well-prepared fish.

Serves: 3

Ingredients

500g bite-size Basa

400ml Coconut milk

4 tbsp shredded Coconut

12-15 Peppercorn

4-5 dried Kashmiri Chilli

2 chopped Onions

5 pieces Kokum

2 tsp Mustard seed

1 tbsp Kashmiri red Chilli powder

Salt to taste

3 tbsp Sunflower oil

Method

Step 1- Paste

Soak Kashmiri chilli and kokum in water for 5 minutes before using. Add one chopped onion, coconut milk, coconut shreds, peppercorn, soaked Kashmiri chilli and soaked kokum to a blender and blend till smooth paste.

Step 2- Masala

Add oil to a pot and place on medium heat. Once hot, add mustard seeds and cook till sizzling. Add the rest of the chopped onion and cook on medium heat till slightly golden brown. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.

Step 3

Then reduce the heat to low, add the masala paste to the pan, and cook on medium heat until it bubbles. Stir occasionally to prevent burning. Then add Kashmiri red chilli powder and salt.

Step 4

Mix well, add basa pieces to the curry and stir well. Let the curry sit for 8-10 minutes or till the fish is cooked.

Step 5- Assembly

Remove the fish curry from heat and stir in fresh coconut shreds. Serve hot with a bowl of rice or any choice of bread.

Tips

1. You can use any white-fleshed fish to make this Goan curry.

2. You can replace the given quantity of kokum with 2-3 tamarind pieces, and Tamarind also needs to be soaked before use.

3. You can use regular dried chillies as well instead of Kashmiri chillies. They also need to be soaked before use.

4. When adding masala paste, reduce the heat low to avoid any hot splashes of the paste.

5. Using regular chilli powder instead of Kashmiri chilli powder, reduce the quantity to 2-3 tsp. Note that regular chilli powder is spicer and won’t give the best colour to the curry.

6. Check your fish after 7-8 minutes as fish tend to overcook easily.