Photo: goanfishcurryrice2 · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Kerala · Dinner

Festival Fish Curry

Traditional 100. Festival Fish Curry recipe

🧺 Ingredients

• 750g premium fish (pomfret or karimeen), cut into thick steaks
• 250ml thick coconut milk
• 200ml thin coconut milk
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 5 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 6 green chilies, slit
• 15-20 curry leaves
• 3 tbsp Kashmiri chili powder
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper powder
• 1 cinnamon stick (1-inch piece)
• 4-5 green cardamom pods, bruised
• 4-5 cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tbsp kudampuli water
• 1 tbsp ghee mixed with 3 tbsp coconut oil
• Salt to taste
• Fried onions and fresh coriander for garnish

👩‍🍳 How to make Festival Fish Curry

1. Toast whole spices (2 mins, medium heat): Heat 1 tsp ghee-oil mixture. Toast cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and cloves for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Set aside.
2. Season fish (5 mins): Rub steaks with 1/2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste, 1/2 tsp turmeric, salt, and set aside.
3. Brown onions (4 mins, medium-high heat): Heat remaining ghee-oil mixture, add sliced onions. Fry for 3-4 minutes until golden brown.
4. Build premium spice base (3 mins, medium heat): Add remaining ginger-garlic paste and cook for 1 minute. Add Kashmiri chili powder, coriander powder, black pepper powder, and toasted whole spices with bay leaf. Stir for 2 minutes; aromatics should be pronounced.
5. Add tomatoes (4 mins, medium heat): Add chopped tomatoes, cover and cook for 3-4 minutes until completely broken down into thick, rich paste.
6. Add kudampuli (1 min, medium heat): Pour kudampuli water and simmer for 1 minute.
7. Add thin coconut milk (1 min, medium heat): Pour thin coconut milk, bring to gentle simmer.
8. Enrich with thick coconut milk (3 mins, low heat): Pour thick coconut milk slowly, stirring gently. Simmer for final 3 minutes. Gravy should be luxuriously creamy and coat fish evenly.
9. Garnish and serve (1 min): Top with fried onions and fresh coriander. Serve immediately with rice or traditional Kerala breads.

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