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Fish Curry

October 2, 2018 by Senthil Sadasivam Recipe rating:
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Another mouth watering recipe from Senthil’s Kitchen – Fish Curry!

I am a big fan of fish curry.  Unfortunately (or “fortunately” for the fish!), I do not like many fish varieties in the US.  I mostly make this fish curry with wild caught sockeye salmon fillets, this recipe uses them as well.

When talking about the Indian fish varieties, I love these: viral (snake head), korava, sankara, kilanga, kola, kendai (jilapi/ katla), vawwal, parai, vanjiram and nethili.  How many of you like these fish varieties?

I make two fish curry variations: my mother’s recipe (uses chili/ coriander powder) and my mother-in-law’s recipe (uses sambar powder).

Now over to the recipe.  Vegetarians, please read the notes section on how to adapt this recipe to make yummy veggie curries!

Fish Curry
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Fish Curry

The best tasting spicy and tangy fish curry recipe from Senthil's Kitchen!

Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Keyword Fish, Fish Curry, Fish Kulambu
Prep Time 45 minutes
Servings 4 people
Author Senthil Sadasivam

Ingredients

  • 1 lbs Fish wild caught sockeye salmon fillets
  • 1 tbsp Methi seeds
  • 4 sprigs Curry leaves
  • 1/2 cup Shallots chopped
  • 10 Small/ pearl onions
  • 10 cloves Garlic crushed
  • 3 tbsp Sambar powder
  • 1 tsp Turmeric powder
  • Tamarind juice to taste
  • Salt to taste
  • 4 tbsp Sesame oil

Sambar powder substitute

  • 1 tbsp Chili powder to taste
  • 2 tbsp Coriander powder

Instructions

  1. Sesame oil is a must for this recipe (unless you are making Kerala style fish curry for which case you can use extra virgin coconut oil).  Heat sesame oil in a pan, and when it is moderately hot, add methi seeds and when they turn slightly brown, add the curry leaves and give a quick stir.

  2. Add the chopped shallots and fry till they brown a bit.

  3. Add chopped garlic and fry till they sweat a bit (do not brown them otherwise the curry will turn bitter).

  4. Add chopped tomatoes and pearl onions and some salt (to speed up the sauteeing process) and fry till the tomatoes are cooked well and oil oozes out.

  5. Add sambar powder (or substitute) and turmeric powder and fry for couple mins.

  6. Add 2 cups water, tamarind juice and mix well and adjust salt.

  7. Cover and boil for about 10 to 15 mins till the curry gets cooked well.  Check for salt now - the curry should be a bit salty to taste.  The salt level will balance out when you add and cook the fish.

  8. Add the fish (spread/ space them out in the pot) and cover and cook for about 5 mins.  Open the lid and give a gentle stir (you can also lift the pan and give a gentle shake).  Key is not to stir too much and break the fish.

  9. Continue cooking without lid for another 5 mins or so and finish off by adding one tbsp sesame oil and giving a gentle stir.

  10. Can be served hot (for impatient tummies); tastes better if it sits for at least an hour or the next day!

Recipe Notes

  • You can add raw mango pieces with this fish curry - tastes so yummy!  You have to add the mango pieces in the beginning and let it cook with the curry.  Before adding fish, you can remove the cooked mango pieces and add them back to the curry at the end when the fish is cooked.
  • Vegetarian fans: just the curry without any vegetable will taste heavenly.  But you can also add veggies like mango, drumstick, eggplant, potato, okra  (you have fry separately and add), yellow pumpkin, or vathal (sundaikai/ manathakkali - fry and add), or if you are eggetarian, you can also add boiled eggs at the end or directly break eggs and cook them in the curry.

 

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