Mustard And Coconut Fish Curry
A creamy coconut milk fish curry with the hit of mustard
Ingredients
- 6 1- inch thick slices of surmai or rohu
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 300 ml unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 10 curry leaves
- 2 green chillies slit lengthwise
- 2 tbsps mustard oil or any vegetable oil
- Salt
For the masala or spice paste
- 1½ tbsp black mustard seeds soaked in 2 tbsps of water for an hour
- 2 tsp poppy seeds soaked in water with the mustard seeds
- 4 cloves of garlic peeled
- 3-4 green chillies as per your preference
- 1- inch piece of ginger peeled
- 1 large onion quartered
Instructions
- Wash the fish and pat dry to remove all moisture. Rub with turmeric and a teaspoon of salt and set aside for 15 minutes.
- While the fish rests, make the spice paste.
- Drain the mustard and poppy seeds (taking care that they don’t flow out with the soaking water), and grind together with all the other masala ingredients in a coffee grinder (using a little water if necessary) to form a thick paste. A coffee grinder or a small food processor is better at pulverising the tiny poppy seeds that may escape the blades in a large container.
- Heat a tbsp of oil in a frying pan and fry the fish ( 2 or 3 pieces at a time), for 30-40 seconds on each side. Remove and rest.
- Add another tsp of oil to the same pan and add the whole mustard seeds and curry leaves so that they pop and crackle.
- Turn down the heat and put in the spice paste. Stir and cook the paste for 5-7 minutes till oil starts to separate from the mixture. It's important to keep the flame down to ensure that the masala doesn’t burn. Sprinkle a little water if it sticks to the pan.
- Once the masala is cooked, pour in the coconut milk and toss in the slit green chillies and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Now gently slip in the fried fish and cook on low simmer for 3 minutes or until the fish is just done.
Notes
Prep time does not include time taken to soak the mustard seeds.