This Goan Fish Curry is a warm and tangy fish curry cooled with coconut milk. It’s a perfect Indian seafood curry recipe to warm up with!
Indian Curry: Goan Fish Curry
India has lots of coastline, so it’s no surprise that fish and seafood are common ingredients in Indian curries.
Goa, the smallest state in India, located on the western coast, is no exception.
In Goa, the fish curries use coconut milk and mustard oil. This makes them creamy with a bit of a unique spice. They get a tart tang from tamarind, and they are known to be fairly spicy.
It’s the tangy-ness that really sets Goan curries apart. This element comes from a Portuguese influence (which would have first been seen in the form of wine and vinegar in curries).
The mingling of the spices with the coconut milk works beautifully to bring out the mild sweetness of the fish. It creates a delicious fish curry with nice warmth and a fun tangy kick.
What are Kashmiri Chilies?
Another unique element to a Goan fish curry are the Kashmiri chilies.
Kashmiri chilies are Indian chilies that are known for their bright red hue, rather than for a searing heat. They come in at 1,000-2,000 on the Scoville scale of pepper heat. (Which puts them right there with Anaheim and Poblano peppers).
These chilies are typically dried and used as flakes or powder to give dishes a wonderful color.
If you’re eating an authentic Indian dish whose color pops right off the plate (like tandoori chicken or this curry), then it probably gets some of its color from Kashmiri chilies.
What is a substitute for Kashmiri Chilies?
Since cooks mostly use Kashmiri chilies for their color, when it comes to finding a substitute for Kashmiri chilies, we’re really looking to pump color into our dish.
We have found that a mixture of sweet paprika (not smoked) and cayenne powder does a nice job to add color and a bit of heat, akin to what you would get from the harder-to-find Kashmiri chilies.
We use a ratio of 3 parts paprika to 1 part cayenne. But if you want less heat, feel free to dial the cayenne down a bit.
Our Goan Fish Curry Recipe
This dish traditionally uses firm Indian fish. But you can substitute any firm white fish, like pollock or haddock.
You will want to add the fish at the very end of the cooking time, so it doesn’t fall apart in the cooking broth. Choosing a firm fish will ensure that you still have nice chunks of fish as you serve your fish curry.
Traditionally, to make an Indian curry, whole spices would be first toasted in a skillet and then ground with garlic and ginger to form a spice paste, called a masala.
For our recipe, we’re cutting down on prep time and making things easier by starting with ground spices and getting that toasted flavor by sautéing the spice mixture briefly with the onions.
Another step we’ve made to make this recipe easier is to go the more Portuguese route and added vinegar to our curry recipe to give it the characteristic tart tang.
If you’d like to go the more traditional route and use tamarind paste for tartness in this curry recipe, go ahead and add it to taste in place of the vinegar that we call for in the recipe below.
Goan Fish Curry
This Goan Fish Curry is a warm and tangy fish curry that is cooled with coconut milk. It's a perfect Indian seafood curry recipe to warm up with!
Serve this curry with white rice.
Ingredients
Masala Spices
- 2 tsp ground coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin, ground
- ¾ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
For The Curry
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil, or vegetable oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 2 tomatoes, diced fine
- 1 c coconut milk, (regular or light)
- ½ c water
- 2 mild green chilies, cut into strips
- ¾ lb firm white fish, (pollock, cod, haddock), cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 Tbsp white vinegar
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix all the masala spices. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, heat 1 Tbsp of oil over a medium high heat. Add the onion and sauté until lightly golden, 3-4 min.
- Reduce heat to medium and add the garlic, ginger, and spice mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until the spices are fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
- Return the heat to medium high. Add the tomatoes and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, 3-5 minutes.
- Mix in the coconut milk, water, and chilies. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 10 min.
- Add the fish, and cook until opaque and firm, 5-7 min.
- Add the vinegar. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired.
- Serve with white rice.
Notes
This recipe from 2013 was updated in September 2017. We made a few tweaks to make the curry even more authentic. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
3Serving Size:
1 gAmount Per Serving: Calories: 479
This is one of the recipes from the early days of Curious Cuisiniere. We’ve updated our recipe and pictures since we first made it in case you found us in the past and are looking for that old familiar image. Enjoy!
If you liked this recipe, here are some similar dishes you may enjoy!
Sarah is one of Curious Cuisiniere’s founding duo. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
Querino de Freitas
Monday 24th of January 2022
I JUST LOVE CURRIES...I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE MY OWN BLEND.AND SOMETIMES INVENT A FEW....I LIKE THE IDEA OF USING FISH IN CURRIES AS I HAVE ALREDY TRIED PRAWNS,,,,YOUR RECIPES AHS A LOVELY WAY OF MIXING DIFFERENT SPICES WITHOUT HAVING TOO MUCH PEPPER JHERE SHOULD ONLY BE A HINT.I SOME TIMES PUT INTHE POT FOR THE LAST 15 MINUTED A WHOLE SCOTCH BONNET PEPPER AND RETRIEVE WHOLE PREVENTING FROM BREAKING IN THE CURRY...I WILL ALWYS HAVE A SMALL PICE OF COOKED PEPPER ON THE SIDE TO EAT WITH THE RICE...THANKS ...QUERINO...
Sarah Ozimek
Friday 28th of January 2022
So glad you enjoyed the recipe. That is a great tip fr the chili. Thank you!
Nabeel
Wednesday 26th of August 2020
But where do we add kashmiri chilly? Btw its awesome dish..
Sarah Ozimek
Thursday 27th of August 2020
Hi Nabeel. As mentioned in the article, we use a combination of sweet paprika and cayenne in our masala to mimic the kashmiri chilies, since many people will likely not have them on hand. If you have some kashmiri chilies that you would like to use, you can substitute them for the paprika and cayenne in the masala. The amount would depend on your spice preference. Enjoy!
R E
Saturday 27th of June 2020
I LOVEEEEE THIS DISH!!!! I have made this like 6 time. Every month I’ve made this dish, I've stretched the ingredients just a weee bit “JUST” so I could freeze a portion once complete. Yes! I needed to have this dish around at all times. It was so easy to make and so perfectly seasoned.
Thank you for sharing such a great recipe
Sarah Ozimek
Sunday 28th of June 2020
So glad you enjoyed this curry!
suraj kumar
Saturday 13th of July 2019
verry nice recipe
Sarah Ozimek
Tuesday 16th of July 2019
Thank you!
Abhinav
Friday 8th of March 2019
Such wonderful Indian style fish curry. I will definitely try this recipe at home.
Sarah Ozimek
Friday 8th of March 2019
Thanks Abhinav. Enjoy!