Goan Fish Curry

Bringing back memories of my time in Cavelossim, Goa, for my Dad’s 60th, we sampled this coconut and coriander-based Goan fish curry on our travels. With our hotel located on the beach front we indulged in several fine-dining seafood dishes – all wonderful and so different in taste, but this one stood out due to it’s creamy green appearance, subtle yet moorish flavours. It’s been one of my favourites ever since!

This curry has very few spices and is delicately flavoured. Made with a paste, it really brings out the flavours of the key ingredients and is an essential process in creating this dish. The appearance of the sauce will depend on how fine you grind the paste. I left my slightly coarse, hence the milky, grainy, onion and coriander look. I’ve used Tilapia fish, but any white fish is fine too. I found this a straight-forward dish and cooked it within 30 mins. Served with rice, yet naan is essential in my opinion; needed to mop up the sauce!

[lt_recipe name=”Goan Fish Curry Recipe” servings=”4″ prep_time=”10M” cook_time=”20M” total_time=”30M” difficulty=”Medium” summary=”A fragrant and lightly spiced curry with a creamy coriander sauce. If you prefer more heat to your curry, add more green chillies into your paste.” print=”yes” image=”https://spicella.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Goan-Fish-Recipe-1.jpg” ingredients=”For the paste:;1/2 Red Onion;7g Ginger;4 cloves Garlic;2 green Chillies;25g fresh Coriander;;For the sauce:;6 Curry leaves;2 Cloves;1 Cinnamon stick;1 tsp Mustard seeds;1/2 red Onion (finely diced);1 flat tsp Salt;2 tsp ground Coriander powder;2 tsp Garam masala;1 tsp Sugar;400ml Tin Coconut milk;Few fresh coriander leaves for garnish;1 red Chilli for garnish;4 Tilapia fillets” ]In a blender or chopper prepare the paste. Add 1/2 red onion, garlic, ginger, green chilli and coriander. Blitz this until smooth or very finely chopped.;In a large shallow pan, heat 2 tbs olive oil and add mustard seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves and curry leaves. Let this cook for 1-2 minutes on medium heat until it starts to sizzle.;Add the diced red onion and let this cook for approximately 5 minutes or so, until it softens and light brown.;Add in the paste and spices: salt, garam masala, ground coriander and sugar. Mix and let it cook for a further 5 minutes.;Pour in the coconut milk and give the sauce a mix. ;Add the fish and cook for about 10 minutes on a medium-low heat until the fish is done and sauce has thickened. Baste fish with the sauce every few minutes as it cooks so that it absorbs as much flavour as possible.[/lt_recipe]

Equipment required

• Blender or chopper
• Shallow and wide, non-stick pan (I used a 32cm diameter pan)

Useful Tips for making Goan Fish Curry

• To make the paste, you can use a chopper or food processor. I’ve used a chopper, hence the grainy coriander, if you were to blend into a fine paste, the curry sauce will appear light green.
• Cook the fish into the curry sauce on a slow heat to avoid the coconut milk from becoming too thin and water-like.