Fish Curry Recipe

Around the coasts of India are a thousand different fish curry recipes. Every area, town and kitchen has its own favourites. Here are two. One is a Parsee Fish Patia, thick and sweet-and-sour, the other is a brilliant Mumbai Fish Curry.

Fish Patia

This Parsee dish works just as well with prawns (shrimp) and that is how I originally had it in Gujarat, way back in 1978.

700 gm (1½lb) fish steaks or prawns

2 onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2.5cm (1 inch ginger root, chopped finely

1-2 fresh green chillies, de-seeded and finely chopped

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground chilli powder

2 large tomatoes, chopped

1 teaspoon jaggery or gir (or brown sugar if unavailable)

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Fry the onions over a brisk heat, stirring to prevent burning. When they turn golden brown, add the garlic and ginger. Sauté for a couple of minutes then add the chillies and the ground spices with a splash of water (to prevent burning). Once the water has evaporated and the spices have roasted – you will see the oil start to separate through the mixture – add the tomatoes, jaggery (sugar), vinegar and 300ml (half a pint) of water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently. After 30 minutes, spoon in the fish pieces, make sure the sauce covers them (add a little more water if necessary), replace the lid and simmer gently. For fish this will be roughly 12-15 minutes; for raw prawns around 6-8 minutes and for cooked prawns 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately with plain basmati rice,  salad and accompaniments of your choice.

Mumbai Fish Curry

450 gms (1lb) fish fillets – any white fish will do, although the traditional ingredient is pomfret

½ teaspoon of black mustard seeds

10 fresh curry leaves (curry patta)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2.5cm (1 inch ginger root, chopped finely

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 whole dried red chillies, cut in half lengthways and their seeds removed

½ teaspoon chilli powder

½ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon turmeric

½ pint coconut milk

1 teaspoon gram flour

1 tomato, finely chopped

Add some oil to a hot pan and just before it looks like it will smoke, thrown in the mustard seeds and the curry leaves. Stir. The second they start to pop and crackle, chuck in the onion, lower the heat and sauté. When the onion is showing signs of going golden brown, stick in the garlic, ginger, chillies and ground spices; give it all a good stir and allow to cook gently for 1-2 minutes, until the oil separates.

Meanwhile, mix the coconut milk with the gram flour, make sure it's smooth (a blender is quick and easy) and stir into the pan. Cook gently for 4-5 minutes before you taste and add enough salt to be slightly under-seasoned. Stick in the fish and simmer gently, The meal is ready as soon as the fish becomes cooked – usually 10-15 minutes. Taste and add a final seasoning.