A deliciously different fish dinner, with whitefish cooked in an Indian-spiced curry with fresh tomato, coconut milk and lots of fresh cilantro. And the best part? It’s ready to enjoy in less than 30 minutes!
This Kerala fish curry is a weeknight wonder! This coconut fish curry hails from the Kerala region of India. It comes together quickly in one pan with just a few simple ingredients. I love this dish as a super flavourful way to enjoy fish.
What you’ll need
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Whitefish – Any whitefish is fine here. You can use fresh or frozen fish (use from frozen). The only thing that changes is the simmering time. Thicker pieces of fish and frozen fish will require a few more minutes of cooking time. Good options for fish are haddock, halibut, cod, tilapia or flounder.
Tomatoes – Fresh tomatoes are so lovely in this curry, so I do recommend fresh if you have them. In a pinch, canned tomatoes will work. You’ll need about 3 medium-sized fresh tomatoes.
Coconut Milk – Use either full-fat or reduced-fat coconut milk.
Tikka Curry Paste – Tikka curry paste is easily available with the Indian sauces at most supermarkets. I’ve used Patak’s brand here. Be sure to get the curry paste and not the cooking sauce. A similar Indian curry paste such as Madras would also work.
How to make coconut fish curry
- Start by cooking the onions in a skillet with a little oil. Cook until just starting to colour, then add the garlic and cook another minute.
- Add the chopped fresh tomatoes to the skillet and cook for a couple of minutes to soften.
- Add the curry paste to the skillet and cook, stirring, for another couple of minutes.
- Add the coconut milk to the skillet. Stir to combine and bring the sauce to a boil.
- Reduce the heat under the skillet for a gentle simmer then add the fish. Allow the fish to simmer in the sauce for 5-8 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through and flakes with a fork.
- Finish with lots of fresh cilantro and serve with rice.
Recipe video
Recipe tips!
- If you’d like to add more vegetables to this fish curry, either green beans or peas would be a good option and could be added directly to the simmering sauce. I feel like chopped cauliflower would also work, but it might need some pre-cooking.
- The rice is optional, but a traditional way to serve this curry.
- I find this dish really benefits from salt at the end of cooking, so taste and add salt as needed to really bring together the great flavours.
- I love to serve this dish with Naan bread for dipping in the delicious, plentiful sauce.
Making ahead and storing
You could make this curry several hours ahead and gently reheat it in a pan on the stovetop. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for a day or two.
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Ingredients
For the rice: (optional)
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 2 cups water
For the fish curry:
- 2-3 teaspoons neutral-tasting cooking oil
- 1 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic , chopped
- 1 lb (454 g) fresh tomatoes, cut into chunks
- 3 Tablespoons tikka curry paste
- 13.5 oz (400 ml) can coconut milk, full-fat or reduced-fat
- 8 oz skinless, boneless white fish, cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- Salt, to taste
For serving:
- Lime slices or wedges
Instructions
- Put rice on to cook (if using) using 1 cup of basmati rice with 2 cups of water.
- While the rice is cooking, heat the cooking oil in a skillet on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until softened and just starting to colour, about 5-8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add the curry paste and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the coconut milk and stir to combine. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium heat.
- Reduce the heat under the pan to medium-low. Add the fish to the pan and simmer gently for 5-8 mins until the fish is just cooked through. Taste the sauce and add salt to the sauce as needed, to really bring all the flavours together. Turn off the heat. Sprinkle the cilantro over the curry. Serve with lime wedges, rice and/or Naan bread, if desired.
Notes
Adapted from a Good Food recipe
More curry recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
This is a quick and delicious recipe. I added green peas and the sauce was good enough to eat as soup!
Halibut was my choice of fish. I used lots of coriander from my herb garden with a bit of salt at the end as, as you suggested. I like the idea of  adding scallops as a reviewer suggested. Next time. I suppose shrimps would work as well.Â
This is a keeper, so please continue publishing these easy, quick meals.Â
Thanks Jennifer.Â
So glad you enjoyed it Carole Ann! And I’m all about easy, quick meals so there are sure to be more to come :) Thanks!
We made this last night and it was amazing! I used Mahi Mahi and added some thawed scallops at the end and everyone loved it so much. I did add the green beans to the sauce before adding the fish. If you like heat, a little sambal oelek chili paste would do it. We are fighting over the leftovers, and my kids thought it would be good with chicken thighs too.
So glad you all enjoyed it, Tina and yes, it would be nice with chicken, too! Thanks :)