Prep & Cook Time: 40 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 4
In this dish, fish pieces are simmered in coconut milk and then tempered with curry leaves, offering an amazing fragrance and a delicious curry.
Yes, that’s exactly how it feels to cook fish pieces in coconut milk—comforting, flavorful, and incredibly aromatic. Over the past few weeks, I had been experimenting with different fried fish recipes. But today, I decided to go for a healthier option by skipping the oil, and that’s when the idea of a coconut milk fish curry struck me.
This recipe is simple and takes just 40 minutes. The only slightly time-consuming part is extracting both the thick and thin coconut milk. Once that’s done, everything else comes together quite quickly. This dish serves around three to four people. The natural sweetness and creamy texture of the coconut milk elevate this curry beautifully.
To add a sour note, I opted for tomatoes instead of kokum. I actually picked up this recipe from my mom during a recent visit home. It was nearly lunchtime, and the fish wasn’t even on the stove yet. But within 20 minutes, a mouthwatering fish curry appeared on the dining table. All the prep work—chopping vegetables, extracting coconut milk—had already been done, so the cooking itself was super fast.
The key to this curry’s rich taste is boiling the fish in thin coconut milk first. The fish gets thoroughly coated in the spices and coconut milk. Once it’s fully cooked, the flame is turned off, and only then is the thick coconut milk added. The final touch is the tempering, which adds an extra layer of flavor and aroma.
So if you’re looking for a wholesome alternative to fried fish, this simple and flavorful fish curry is a must-try.
Ingredients
- Fish pieces – 500 g
- Onions (finely chopped) – 3
- Tomatoes (thin round slices) – 2
- Ginger (finely chopped) – ¾ tablespoon
- Garlic (finely chopped) – 6 pods
- Thin coconut milk – 2 cups
- Thick coconut milk – 1 cup
- Green chillies – 2
- Dry red chillies – 4
- Curry leaves – 2 sprigs
- Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
- Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp
- Coconut oil – 4 tsp
- Salt – as required
Method of Preparation
- In a pan, mix chopped onion, green chillies, garlic, ginger, and 2 teaspoons of coconut oil.
- Rub the mixture gently using your hand and add the thin coconut milk.
- Add the fish pieces, tomato slices, salt, and curry leaves. Cover with a lid and cook on medium flame.
- Boil the curry until the oil floats on top and the fish is fully cooked.
- Once done, switch off the flame and stir in the thick coconut milk.
- In a small tadka pan, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of coconut oil. Add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, dry red chillies, and curry leaves.
- Pour the tempering over the curry and mix well.
Serve this delicious fish curry hot with boiled rice.
Whether you’re craving a comforting homemade dish or looking to stay away from fried foods and sauces, this coconut milk-based fish curry is the perfect pick.
