SWASTHI'S RECIPES

Fish curry recipe

By SWASTHI , on OCTOBER 11, 2021 , , JUMP TO RECIPE

Fish curry made with fresh fish, onions, tomatoes, coconut, spices and herbs. Make the
easiest, delicious and flavorsome fish curry with my easy step by step recipe. Also known
as Indian fish masala it is a sea food lovers’ favorite. Fish curry is a staple in a lot of Asian
countries and is made in various ways using many different locally available ingredients
like coconut, poppy seeds, tamarind etc. This post shows you make it with the most basic
ingredients – the panty staples.
:
 Papdi chaat recipe | How to make dahi p…

While you can make a fish curry with any kind of fish available, river water fish also known
as freshwater fish is the best as they go well in a curry. I know a lot of us don’t have access
to freshwater fishes but trust me they make a lot of difference to a curry.
:
I have already shared my mom’s fish pulusu (https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/fish-
pulusu-south-indian-fish-curry-recipe/) made with tamarind, which is a specialty of the
Andhra cuisine. But the recipe shared in this post is way different from that and is made in
a onion tomato base.

This fish curry tastes best with plain steamed rice, flavored rice like jeera rice, ghee rice or
with roti, paratha and naan.

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Preparation
1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add cumin and allow to splutter. Then add onions & saute until
golden.
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2. Add ginger garlic and fry for 30 to 60 seconds. When they turn fragrant, add tomatoes
and half tsp salt.
:
3. Fry until the raw smell goes away.
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4. Add coconut, red chili powder, turmeric and fennel seeds (optional).
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5. Fry everything well until the onion masala smells good. Ensure the raw smell has gone.
Cool this completely.
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6. This one and next step are optional. Marinate fish with red chili powder, turmeric, very
little salt and ginger garlic paste. Do not leave this marinated fish aside, just fry them right
away.
:
7. Heat a pan with 1 tsp oil, fry the fish until the raw smell of the ginger garlic paste has
gone. You can use the same pan used to fry the onions, I used a different one since I used
a steel pan. Set this aside.
:
8. Add the cooled ingredients to a blender jar along with 2 to 4 tbsps of water.
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9. Blend to a coarse or smooth paste to suit your taste. We prefer coarse texture in our
curry so I made a coarse paste. If you prefer a smooth texture, make a smooth paste.
:
How to make fish curry
10. Add another tbsp. oil & heat on a low flame. When the oil turns slightly hot, add curry
leaves and green chilies.

11. When the leaves splutter, add the ground paste. Mix everything well .
:
13. Sprinkle garam masala and salt. You can add more red chilli powder at this stage to
adjust the heat. I added a bit more. Fry everything well until the masala smells good.
:
14. Pour 1 ¼ cup water and mix well to make lump free gravy. You may need to adjust the
amount of water slightly.
:
15. On a medium flame boil until the oil begins to separate and the gravy thickens. This
may take about 5 mins. Check the salt and spice now. Adjust any taste that is needed. If
you like to use tamarind, you can soak some tamarind in hot water. Extract and filter the
juice to the gravy. We do not prefer tamarind so i have not used, the sourness from
tomatoes is good enough.
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16. Add the fish pieces to the gravy and cook for few mins. Flip them and cook until they
bulge, meaning they are cooked completely. If desired garnish with coriander leaves.
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Serve fish curry with rice or chapathi.
:
More Indian curry recipes
Mutton curry (https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/mutton-curry-recipe-mutton-
gravy/)
Chicken curry (https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/chicken-curry/)
Chicken korma (https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/chicken-korma-recipe/)
Prawn curry (https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/prawn-curry-prawn-masala/)
:
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:
You may like these fish recipes (https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/recipes/fish-
recipes/)
Fish biryani (https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/fish-biryani-recipe-dum-biryani-
recipe/)
Easy fish fry (https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/fish-fry-recipe/)
Fish pulusu (https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/fish-pulusu-south-indian-fish-curry-
recipe/)
:
fish curry

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Recipe card
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FISH CURRY
Simple fish curry made in Indian style. Mildly spicy, flavorful and delicious tasting
:
 fish curry. Serve it with rice or roti.

Pin Recipe (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/bookmarklet/?

url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indianhealthyrecipes.com%2Ffish-curry-
recipe%2F&media=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indianhealthyrecipes.com%2Fwp-
content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F10%2Ffish-
curry.jpg&description=&is_video=false)

Print Recipe
(https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/wprm_print/recipe/37794)

For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time Cook Time Total Time Servings

10 minutes 30 minutes 40 minutes – +

Author
Swasthi (https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/about/)

INGREDIENTS (US CUP = 240ML )

Marination for fish curry

500 grams Fish (half kg)

½ tbsp ginger garlic paste

(https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/ginger-garlic-paste-
recipe/)
:
 tsp turmeric

¼ to ½ tsp red chilli powder

¼ tsp salt or as needed

To saute & puree

1 tbsp oil (adjust as needed)

½ tsp cumin (or jeera)

2 medium onions sliced or 1 cup sliced

½ tbsp ginger garlic minced or paste

2 medium tomatoes ripe (¾ to 1 cup chopped)

½ tsp salt (adjust to taste)

1 tsp red chilli powder (adjust as needed)

tsp turmeric

½ tsp fennel seeds (optional) (saunf)

2 tbsp coconut (grated or ¼ cup coconut milk or 12 cashew nuts)

For curry

1 tbsp oil

1 sprig curry leaves or small bay leaf

1 to 2 green chili (chopped or slit)

1 to 1 ½ tsp garam masala

:
 (https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/punjabi-garam-masala-
powder-recipe/) or curry powder as needed (refer notes)

1 ¼ to 1 ½ cup water
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INSTRUCTIONS

Preparation

Marinate fish with ½ tbsp ginger garlic paste, tsp turmeric, ¼

tsp red chilli powder & ¼ tsp salt.

On a flat fry pan, heat 1 tsp oil. Fry fish pieces slightly until the
raw smell goes away just for 2 to 3 mins on both sides. You can
also sear the fish. Keep this aside. (refer picture below)

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pot and add cumin. When they sputter, add
onions and saute until lightly golden.

Next add ginger garlic paste and saute for 30 seconds. Add
tomatoes & ½ tsp salt. Saute until tomatoes turn soft and mushy.

Next add coconut, fennel seeds (optional), red chili powder &
turmeric. Fry until the mixture turns fragrant & raw smell has gone
away.

Cool this & add to a blender jar along with 2 to 4 tbsps water.
Blend to a smooth or coarse paste to suit your liking. (refer
notes). You can also use a immersion blender. Keep this aside.
:
 Making fish curry

Add 1 tbsp more oil to the same pot used earlier. Heat up on a
low flame.

When the oil turns slightly hot, add curry leaves & green chilies.

When they splutter, add the ground onion tomato paste and
garam masala. Fry until the mixture smells good. If you feel it is
not hot enough for your taste, then add more chilli powder at this
stage & saute.

Pour 1 ¼ to 1½ cup water. Mix and bring it to a boil. Cook until

you see traces of oil on the surface and the gravy thickens a bit.

Gently slide the fish pieces and cook covered on a medium heat.

Carefully flip or turn the pieces to the other side after 3 to 4 mins.

Cook until the fish pieces bulge a bit. This is the indication they
are cooked completely. Taste the curry and add more salt if
needed.

Optionally garnish fish curry with coriander leaves if desired.

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:
 NOTES

If you prefer a smoother gravy, then blend the paste to a smooth texture adding
more water as needed. For a coarse gravy, blend it coarse.

The kind of garam masala to use depends on ones choice of the gravy. Some
folks do not prefer strong garam masala as they like to keep the fish flavour
dominant. But we use a stronger garam masala. Also do adjust the quantity of
masala to suit your taste.

Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only,

original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo
instructions and tips above the recipe card.

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Fish curry

Amount Per Serving

Calories 309 Calories from Fat 117
% Daily Value*
Fat 13g 20%
Saturated Fat 2g 13%
Cholesterol 83mg 28%
Sodium 171mg 7%
Potassium 673mg 19%
Carbohydrates 11g 4%
Fiber 3g 13%
Sugar 4g 4%
Protein 35g 70%

Vitamin A 425IU 9%
Vitamin C 22.3mg 27%
Calcium 43mg 4%
Iron 1.8mg 10%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie
diet.
:
 Tried this recipe?
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(https://www.instagram.com/SwasthisRecipes) or tag #swasthisrecipes
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About swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi's
Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of
experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at
home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to
enhance your cooking skills.
Read more.. (https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/about/)
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Recipe Rating

168 COMMENTS

Bhavana
November 8, 2021 8:21 am

I have been trying out Swasthi’s recipe off-late and all are just fool-proof. This fish curry is
priceless!

Reply

swasthi
Reply to Bhavana November 8, 2021 3:45 pm

Thanks Bhavana

Reply

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 Danny
September 11, 2021 5:39 am

Tried this today and family loved it

Reply

Devaki Gomez
August 20, 2021 2:26 pm

Great recipe! Made a little twist by adding 1/2 tsp of sugar to the curry and after the curry
was cooked and taken off the fire I sprinkled some cilantro leaves and covered the pot till it
was time to eat!!!

Reply

swasthi
Reply to Devaki Gomez August 21, 2021 11:22 am

Glad to know!
Thank you

Reply

Kathy Rinna
August 13, 2021 11:25 pm

Hi, will be trying this today. But I would like to use defrosted frozen fish. Do you think that
will work? Any tips? Has anyone tried with frozen fish before?

Reply
:
 swasthi
Reply to Kathy Rinna August 14, 2021 2:09 am

Hi Kathy
Usually frozen fish gets disintegrated in the curry too fast. You may reduce the
cook time & try. I haven’t tried it though in this recipe but I have cooked frozen fish
before.

Reply

Rumpa Saha
July 28, 2021 9:23 am

Good !

Reply

Jen Ibrahim
July 14, 2021 10:57 pm

This dish was very tasty. My husband liked it so much that he asked me to make sure to
save the recipe.

Reply

swasthi
Reply to Jen Ibrahim July 15, 2021 4:42 am

Glad to know Jen

Thank you

Reply
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 Vindiya Iyanna
July 3, 2021 3:45 am

Great recipe. I wanted to find out in Singapore what fish would you use and where would
you buy the fish? Tekka?

Reply

swasthi
Reply to Vindiya Iyanna July 5, 2021 1:28 am

Hi Vindiya,
Yes tekka market sells the best. But haven’t been buying from wet markets since
last year. You can use batang from cold storage or fairprice.

Reply

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century foods
June 10, 2021 4:44 am

Thanks for sharing this very well-written and worth reading article. I loved Fish Curry.
It looks Tasty. I will make it. Wish to see more in the coming days.

Reply
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 Vijay
Reply to century foods June 29, 2021 6:27 am

What fish did you use. Don’t see it anywhere

Reply

swasthi
Reply to Vijay July 1, 2021 1:59 am

I used katla

Reply

EllKay
May 17, 2021 1:54 am

This was absolutely delicious. I added carrots and kale to the gravy. Thank you, Swasthi!

Reply

Rakhi
May 4, 2021 8:59 pm

I love this recipe and have used it twice now. I am wondering could I also use this same
masala for chicken? Have you ever tried that?

Reply
:
 swasthi
Reply to Rakhi May 5, 2021 11:48 am

Hi Rakhi
Glad you like it. Yes I use this pretty much for everything even for chicken, paneer
and mixed vegetables. For the veggies I use lesser garam masala.

Reply

Neve
May 4, 2021 5:00 am

Hi Swasti. I’m an ardent follower of your blog. I tried your fish curry last weekend, it was
delicious. In fact, it was the best i’ve had so far.

Reply

swasthi
Reply to Neve May 5, 2021 11:49 am

Hi Neve,
Thank you so much! So happy to know!
"

Reply

Mary jean
April 14, 2021 4:56 pm

Thank you for this recipe,my boss loves it and wont be worry already if they want curry.#

Reply
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 Maria
March 17, 2021 3:03 pm

This turned out delicious. I used half cup coconut milk to blend and wow it was so good.
Thank you

Reply

swasthi
Reply to Maria March 27, 2021 5:27 am

Glad to know Maria. Thanks for leaving a comment.

Reply

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 meghna
February 3, 2021 11:49 am

Amazing fish curry recipe! this was so delicious! couldn’t believe it was made at home. i
skipped the chili powder and tomatoes to make it nightshade free and subbed tamarind
paste. it was divine. thank you! i ma a big fan of your recipes and website, keep up the
great work.

Reply

swasthi
Reply to meghna February 7, 2021 9:37 am

Hi Meghna
You are welcome! Glad it turned out good. Thank you so much!
"

Reply

Himanshu
January 24, 2021 2:33 pm

Hey Swasthi,

The recipe was great. My family loved it. Just one thing, while frying the fish, the whole
kitchen started smelling like fish, can we do anything so the smell can be reduced.

Reply
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 swasthi
Reply to Himanshu January 26, 2021 3:12 am

Hi Himanshu
Glad it turned out good. Try rinsing the fish in food vinegar (like rice or apple
cider) before marinating. Just pour directly on to the cut fish pieces, apply it,
leave for 1 minute (not longer) and rinse well. This will take away the smell. Also
try choosing river fish/ fresh water fish. These won’t have that smell. Hope this
helps.

Reply

Pranav Singh
December 29, 2020 11:38 pm

Hi Swasthi. I am a busy physician in US. I am so thankful to you and your website for
helping me learn Indian dishes.

Reply

swasthi
Reply to Pranav Singh December 30, 2020 1:55 pm

Hi Dr. Pranav
You are most welcome! So glad to know the recipes are helping. Thank you so
much for leaving a comment.

Reply
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 Leon
December 28, 2020 4:12 pm

Fantastic recipe – just cooked this for my mum and wife in Germany. Thank you so much
for sharing your family recipes with us!!!

Reply

swasthi
Reply to Leon December 30, 2020 1:38 pm

Welcome Leon
Glad it turned out good. Thank you so much!

Reply

Dushyant Gupta
December 15, 2020 6:26 pm

Just tried it and the results were amazing. I made fish curry for the first time (I dont even
fish that much but my wife loves it) and it came out really well. Big fan of Swasthi’s
recipies!!

Reply

swasthi
Reply to Dushyant Gupta December 17, 2020 2:18 pm

Thank You Dushyant

Glad it turned out good.

Reply
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 Jeet
November 23, 2020 7:02 pm

What can I use if I don’t have coconut milk??

Reply

swasthi
Reply to Jeet November 24, 2020 3:33 am

Hi,
You can use cashews. I have mentioned it in the recipe.

Reply

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LadyKPT
November 15, 2020 2:08 pm

Absolutely amazing! I love fish curries and have tried many but this one is the best!
Thanks!!

Reply
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 swasthi
Reply to LadyKPT November 16, 2020 1:53 pm

Welcome!
Glad to know! Thank you

Reply

Sheetal Pakhare
November 8, 2020 7:00 am

The recipe turned out amazing. This time I want to try with coconut milk. At want stage
can we use coconut milk

Reply

swasthi
Reply to Sheetal Pakhare November 8, 2020 7:08 am

Thank you!
If using homemade coconut milk, then use thin coconut milk instead of water to
cook the curry.
If using thick store bought/can coconut milk, then add it to the blender along with
onion & tomatoes.

Reply
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