Kerala Fish Curry
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
A fiery, creamy Kerala-style fish curry, finished with an aromatic seasoning just before serving.
Author:
Yield: 4 servings
What You Need
  • For the Curry:
  • 1 T Ghee or Coconut Oil
  • ½ lb Fresh Firm White Fish, Cut Into Bite-sized Pieces
  • 1 Cup / 240ml Coconut Milk
  • ¼ / 60ml Cup Water
  • 1 Medium-Sized Onion, Chopped
  • 2 Small Fresh Split Green Chilies*
  • 3 Medium Tomatoes, Chopped
  • ¼ t Mustard Seeds
  • ¼ t Fenugreek Seeds
  • 1 Split Green Chili
  • 2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
  • ½" Piece Fresh Ginger, chopped
  • 1 - 1.5 t Kashmiri Mirch Chili Powder (depending on spice-level required)
  • ¼ t Turmeric Powder
  • ¼ t Cumin Powder
  • 1 t Coriander Powder
  • ½ t Salt
  • For the Seasoning:
  • ½ t Mustard Seeds
  • 2 T Shallots, chopped
  • 2-3 Pieces Split Dried Red Chili*
  • 8 Curry Leaves
How You Make It
  1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan until hot over a medium high heat and add the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. Cook for 1 minute until the seeds start to pop.
  2. Add the onion and green chili and fry for about 2 minutes, or until onion just starts to color.
  3. Add garlic and ginger and stir for 30 seconds.
  4. Next add in the chili powder, turmeric, cumin and coriander powder. Cook, over a low heat, stirring occasionally for about 2 minutes, or until the powders cease to smell raw.
  5. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for about 3-4 minutes, until the tomatoes start to dry a little in the pan.
  6. Add the salt and ¼ cup of the coconut milk and ¼ cup of water. Bring up to the boil, turn down the heat and and cook over a medium low heat for about 5 minutes.
  7. Now add the rest of the coconut milk to the curry, stir, and now gently add the fish.
  8. Cover and cook over a medium flame for about 3-4 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked.
  9. While the fish is cooking, make the Seasoning:
  10. Heat 2 t oil in a small pan over a medium high heat, add the mustard seeds and once they start to pop, add the shallots and chili and fry until onion is light brown in color. Add the curry leaves and cook about a minute, until they start to crisp. Remove from the heat, and keep to one side.
  11. Gently transfer to a serving dish, top with the seasoning and serve with rice and/or roti.
Notes
* Split the green chilis with a knife, rather than chopping them into pieces. Leave the chilis whole in the finished dish - you may either pick them out or chop up, once your plate if desired.
** Break the dried red chilis in half if small, into three if larger. These chilies are not meant to be eaten, but picked out of the dish if they land on your portion.
The Kashmiri Mirch adds quite a bit of heat to this dish and splitting the chilis releases the oils, and some of the seeds, so you will likely find you do not need to eat the cooked chilis!
Make sure you use the Fenugreek Seeds - the leaves have a completely different flavor and are not usually used in Kerala-stye cooking.
Coriander powder is used in the curry, but not the leaves in Kerala-style cooking. However, this is your dish, so feel free to use the leaves as an extra garnish if you wish!

Nutritional breakdown is approximate and for general information only, and will vary depending on specific brands and measurements used.
Recipe by Veggiemental at https://veggiemental.com/kerala-fish-curry/