This Spicy King Fish Curry with Coconut is every seafood eater’s weakness. The Fish Curry is a popular recipe of East Indian cuisine. The curry is spicy, tangy, and has a wonderful red-orange hue that makes it appetizing.
Spicy King Fish (Seer or Surmai) Curry with Coconut is an everyday fish curry recipe that you would love to splurge on. Team it up with a bowl of rice and this could be your best weekday meal.
Fish Curry with Coconut and a plate of rice was a staple when we were growing up. Mum would prepare this fish curry with whatever fish was available in the market. Other than Surmai (King Fish or Seer Fish), mackerels and pomfrets also work wonderfully well for this recipe. You must try the Fish Kujit recipe that I make with Rawas or Indian Salmon.
I had more than a kilogram of King Fish (Surmai) this weekend and I used some of it to make a delicious Surmai Tawa Fry. And with the remaining fish slices, I decided to go ahead and make this Spicy King Fish Curry with Coconut that my family adores.
The fish curry is …..
- Appetizing with a red-orange hue. I use the regular Bedki chillies that are available locally and they highly influence the colour of the curry.
- Spicy – The Bedki chillies that I use in this recipe are spicier than the Kashmiri chillies.
- Tangy – I always add tamarind in my fish curry recipes. This imparts a slightly sour taste to the curry which is most needed. Tamarind is easily available in all grocery stores, so do not skip this.
Ingredients for King Fish Curry with Coconut
- FISH – Of course, King Fish (Surmai or Seer Fish). If you don’t like Surmai then go ahead and make this fish curry with any firm fish of your choice.
- COCONUT – Coconut and fish curries go hand in hand. If you need a nice thick curry use freshly grated coconut. Even coconut milk works fine for this fish curry. I have never made this King Fish Curry with dried Coconut so I am not able to tell you the difference.
- RED CHILLIES – Fish Curry with red chillies have an orange-red colour or bright red colour. Bedki red chillies renders a orange red colour to this King Fish Curry. These chillies are a little on the spicy side but perfect for any fish curry recipe. Feel free to use any red spicy chillies of your choice.
- GINGER & GARLIC – Ginger can be optional but garlic, do not skip it as it gives that much needed pungent taste and aroma to the fish curry.
- CUMIN & CORIANDER SEEDS – Generally, we skip coriander seeds when we make a fish curry without coconut or without oil. But for certain fish curries like this King Fish (Seer or Surmai) with coconut, we also like to add Coriander seeds for its earthy flavour.
- TAMARIND – We add a little bit of tamarind to give the fish curry a slightly sour taste. The idea is not to make the curry sour but give it a slight tang. Traditionally, we extract the juice of a small lime-sized ball of tamarind and add it to the fish curry in the final stage of cooking. If you don’t like tamarind then you could add a little vinegar and this would also be fine to give the fish curry its tang.
Fish Curry Cooking Video
How to make King Fish (Surmai) Curry
- Marinate the King Fish with turmeric and salt and set aside for at least 10 minutes or until you get the other ingredients ready.
- Soak a small ball of tamarind in 1/2 a cup of warm water for 10 minutes and then squeeze it well to extract its juice. Keep aside this tamarind extract for use in the curry later.
- Make the Fish Curry Paste with fresh coconut, red chilles, coriander & cumin seeds, ginger, and garlic. Add a little water and blend this to a smooth consistency.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a deep vessel and saute one small sliced onion and 2 green chillies for 2 minutes.
- Now add the masala paste and fry for 2 to 3 minutes and then add 1 cup water and the tamarind extract. Cover the vessel and let the curry come to a boil.
- After about 4 to 5 minutes, reduce the flame and then add the marinated king fish slices and cook for 5 minutes only.
- Finally garnish with coriander leaves and simmer the King Fish Curry for 2 minutes on a low flame.
Serving Suggestions
This Spicy King Fish Curry with Coconut goes well with a bowl of steamed rice. You can also serve this fish curry with rice Rotis or even chapati.
A side dish of any fried fish or a Surmai Tawa Fry will make a perfect accompaniment. You may also like to serve some vegetables like Snake Gourd with Chana Dal, Beans Foogath, or Drumstick Foogath with this fish curry and rice.
More East Indian Fish Curry Recipe
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SPICY KING FISH CURRY WITH COCONUT
Ingredients
- 600 grams King Fish (Surmai or Seer Fish) cut into slices (approx 4 to 5 slices)
- ½ tsp Tumeric powder
- 1 small Onion, sliced
- 1 Green chillies slit
- ½ cup Tamarind extract (soak lime sized tamarind in 1/2 cup warm water)
- 1 tbsp Oil for cooking
- 1 cup Water (approx 250 ml)
- 1 tbsp Coriander Leaves for garnish
- Salt to taste
For the Curry Masala Paste
- ½ cup Grated coconut
- 8 Red Chillies
- 8 flakes Garlic
- 1 inch Ginger
- 1 tbsp Coriander seeds
- ½ tbsp Cumin seeds
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
Instructions
Preparation for Fish Curry
- Marinate the fish with turmeric powder and salt. Set aside for 10 minutes.
- Grind the ingredients for the Masala into a smooth paste with a little water.
- Extract the juice of tamarind in warm water.
Making the Fish Curry
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a vessel and saute the onion and chillies.
- Add the masala paste and fry for 2 minutes.
- Add one cup of water and tamarind extract. Cover the vessel and allow the curry to come to a boil.
- After 2 minutes, reduce the flame, open the lid and then add the marinated fish slices.
- Cover once again and let the curry simmer for 5 minutes or until the fish slices are cooked.
- Finally, garnish with coriander leaves and simmer for 2 more minutes and then switch off the flame.
- Serve this Spicy King Fish Curry with steamed rice or rotis.
Notes
- Check for seasonings once the curry is cooked. Add more salt if required.
- Adjust chillies to suit your taste. I used Bedki chilles, you can use any chillies of your choice.
- You can also make this curry with any fish that you have.