← Nouns Cooking · Indian

Ingredients

• 600 g firm white fish fillets, cut into 4 cm chunks
• ¼ tsp turmeric, for the fish
• 1½ tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tbsp Ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp Ground turmeric
• 6 cloves Garlic
• 1 tbsp Ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp Tamarind paste
• ½ Red onion, roughly chopped
• 6 tbsp Water
• 3 tbsp Vegetable oil
• ½ tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 sprig Curry leaves (optional)
• ½ Red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp Tomato purée (paste)
• 150 ml Passata
• 400 ml Coconut milk
• 150 ml Water
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 2 Green chilli, halved lengthways
• 1 Tomato, cut into chunks
• 1 handful Coriander (cilantro), to serve

Method

1. Toss the fish with a pinch of salt and the turmeric and leave it in the fridge while you make the curry. Blend all the spice-paste ingredients to a smooth paste.
2. Heat the oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and, once they pop (about 30 seconds), the curry leaves and sliced onion. Cook for 5 min until soft.
3. Add the spice paste and fry, stirring constantly, for 3–4 min until it darkens and smells toasty. Stir in the tomato paste and passata and cook for 2 min more.
4. Pour in the coconut milk and water, add the sugar, salt and green chillies, and simmer gently for 10 min until slightly thickened. Taste: it should be tangy, a little sweet and well salted.
5. Add the tomato chunks and fish, nudging the pieces under the sauce. Simmer without stirring for 5–6 min, until the fish flakes easily. Scatter with coriander and serve with plain rice.

Tips

• Stir the fish as little as possible so it stays in chunks; shake the pan gently instead.
• Peeled raw prawns can replace half the fish; they need only 3 minutes.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

RecipeTin Eats BBC Good Food Swasthi's Recipes