Goan Fish Curry Recipe

Goan fish curry takes some influence from the Portuguese that colonised parts of southern India. Whereas Kerelan fish curry has that aromatic flavour of coconut, the Goan fish curry differs with a sharp note usually given by using taramind, lime or vinegar. I prefer using vinegar to really enhance the sharpness but balancing it out with palm sugar (honey is often a good alternative to palm sugar for that warming note).

I’ve always loved a Goan fish curry but hadn’t cooked one myself until recently (and then became totally hooked!). In fact, I’d go so far to say that a decent Goan Fish Curry is probably my favourite go-to curry at the moment. I sometimes find coconut based curries too creamy or mild for me, but a Goan curry differs, it’s mild in that it isn’t packed with chili’s (all my kids love this curry) but it has a deeper flavour than the usual generic coconut curry.

Another serious contender to my Goan fish curry is my tomato based prawn curry – you’ve got to try both and let me know which one you like the most!

I’ve always been a fan of fish curries (seafood in general), this delicious Goan fish curry always reminds me of our time travelling through India where we travelled from the north to the south of India by train spending sometime in Goa, Cochin, Kerela and finishing in Varkala.

When choosing what fish to use in a Goan Fish Curry Recipe the recommendations vary widely; firm white fish such as cod, halibut, monk fish.. Usually oily fish such as mackerel don’t work so well in coconut based curries, however in a Goan fish curry, with the addition of that sharp acidity (tamarind, lime or vinegar) you can get away with using an oily fish. Personally, just use the freshest sustainably sourced fish you can get.

I used a mixture of hake, fresh tuna and a few chunky prawns.

Goan Fish Curry Recipe

Ingredients:

Masala Spice Mix:

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 star anise

2 cardamom pods

6 cloves 

1 dried chili 

Goan Fish Curry Ingredients:

400g fish fillets

6 large prawns

3 small onions

4 cloves garlic

2 inches ginger

2 medium sized (ripe) tomatoes, cut into wedges

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tbsp Pimenton dulche (or paprika)

Bunch Coriander

1 tin coconut milk

1 tbsp palm sugar

1 tsp salt

50g ground almonds

2 tbsp cider vinegar

Juice half lime

Oil for frying

Goan Fish Curry Method:

Toast all the whole spices then add to grinder with 1 small onion cut into chunk, 4 cloves garlic, 2 inches peeled ginger, 3 tbsp water and blitz to a paste.

Add a splash of oil to a frying pan along with 1 small diced onion and tip in the masala paste along with the salt and fry this on a low heat for about 15-20 minutes until it turns a dark brown then add the turmeric, pimenton, tomatoes, most of the fresh coriander chopped and the last onion finely sliced. 

Stir this around to combine everything then pour in the coconut milk, palm sugar , salt, ground almonds and vinegar. 

Incorporate everything together and then taste; adding more vinegar or sugar to get the balance of flavours right, it should be slightly tangy/sharp from the vinegar but rounded with the sugar to balance it.

Place fish pieces and prawns into sauce pushing them down a little so they are almost fully submerged, but not quite. Cover with a lid and leave to simmer on a low heat for about 5 minutes then remove the lid and continue simmering for another five minutes to reduce the sauce slightly and the fish are cooked through.

Remove from the heat, squeeze over the lime and taste again adding more salt, lime, vinegar or sugar to your preference.

Finish with fresh coriander (and I sometimes give it a little drizzle of olive oil over the top – I can’t help myself)

Serve with rice and enjoy!

Goan Fish Curry Recipe

4th July 2020

Servings: 4

Prep: 15 min

Cook: 35 min

Total: 50 min

Difficulty: medium

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Delicious Goan Fish Curry with coconut milk

By: Theo

Ingredients

• Masala Spice Mix:
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 star anise
• 2 cardamom pods
• 6 cloves
• 1 dried chili
• Curry Ingredients
• 400g fish fillets
• 6 large prawns
• 3 small onions
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 inches ginger
• 2 medium sized (ripe) tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp Pimenton dulche (or paprika)
• Bunch Coriander
• 1 tin coconut milk
• 1 tbsp palm sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 50g ground almonds
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• Juice half lime
• Oil for frying

Directions

• Step 1 Toast all the whole spices then add to grinder with 1 small onion cut into chunk, 4 cloves garlic, 2 inches peeled ginger, 3 tbsp water and blitz to a paste.
• Step 2 Add a splash of oil to a frying pan along with 1 small diced onion and tip in the masala paste along with the salt and fry this on a low heat for about 15-20 minutes until it turns a dark brown then add the turmeric, pimenton, tomatoes, most of the fresh coriander chopped and the last onion finely sliced. 
• Step 3 Stir this around to combine everything then pour in the coconut milk, palm sugar , salt, ground almonds and vinegar. 
• Step 4 Incorporate everything together and then taste
• Step 5 adding more vinegar or sugar to get the balance of flavours right, it should be slightly tangy/sharp from the vinegar but rounded with the sugar to balance it.
• Step 6 Place fish pieces and prawns into sauce pushing them down a little so they are almost fully submerged, but not quite. Cover with a lid and leave to simmer on a low heat for about 5 minutes then remove the lid and continue simmering for another five minutes to reduce the sauce slightly and the fish are cooked through. 
• Step 7 Remove from the heat, squeeze over the lime and taste again adding more salt, lime, vinegar or sugar to your preference.
• Step 8 Finish with fresh coriander (and I sometimes give it a little drizzle of olive oil over the top – I can’t help myself)
• Step 9 Serve with rice and enjoy!