Goan fish curry

This recipe for Goan fish curry has to be one of the quickest and most delicious curries I have ever made. It has a hot, deep spicy flavour and can be ready within half an hour.

You can find Tamarind in many forms and I chose to use the paste made by Barts, which is available in most supermarkets.

On this occasion I used River Cobbler as my firm white fish, which tasted superb and stayed together when cooked – although it’s origin is up for discussion, so you may want to use a more sustainable fish such as pollack.

Ask your fishmonger for a firm white fish and choose the one which looks freshest.

Serves 2-3

Curry paste

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tsp tamarind paste
• ½ tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 red chillies, seeds removed and chopped
• 3cm piece of ginger, skin removed and finely chopped
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 2 tbsp dessicated coconut

Everything else

• 1 tin coconut milk
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• vegetable oil for cooking
• pinch of salt
• 200-300g firm white fish

Combine all the curry paste ingredients together. Pour a tablespoon of oil into a frying pan or wok and cook the paste over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes.

Transfer the paste to a handheld blender and pour in a quarter of the coconut milk – this makes it more liquid and easier to blend. Whiz to a smooth paste and set aside.

Pour a little more oil into your pan and fry the onions until they start to brown. Add the paste, tomato, fish sauce and the rest of the coconut milk. Simmer for 4-5 minutes.

Remove any bones from your fish and cut into bite sized pieces. Cook in the sauce for 10 minutes. Carefully stir now and then, but be careful not to break up the fish.

Serve with plain boiled rice.

Hungry for more? Try these!

1. Easy Thai Green Curry Paste
2. Prawn & Pineapple Curry
3. Sri Lankan Chicken Curry
4. Chicken Pasanda