Goan Fish Curry

Ingredients

Fish

• 800 gfirm fish, in thick steaks
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 teaspoonground turmeric
• 2 teaspoonssalt

Masala paste

• 150 gfresh grated coconut
• or 100 g desiccated coconut, soaked
• 10dried Kashmiri chillies, soaked
• 1 tablespooncoriander seed
• 1 teaspooncumin seed
• 1/2 teaspoonblack peppercorns
• 1 teaspoonground turmeric
• 8garlic cloves
• 3cm ginger
• 6 pieceskokum
• or 2 tablespoons tamarind paste
• warm water, to grind

The pot

• 2onions, finely sliced
• 3 tablespoonscoconut oil
• 2green chillies, split
• 1tomato, chopped, optional
• about 300 ml water
• salt to taste

To serve

• plain boiled rice
• or Goan red rice
• lime wedges

Directions

1. Add a hotter chilli separately if you want heat. Preparing the fish takes a moment. Cut the fish into thick steaks. Rub them with lime juice, turmeric and salt.
2. Let them sit for twenty minutes. Rinse it off before the fish goes in. Firm fish is what this dish needs. Soak desiccated coconut in warm water first. Give it twenty minutes to soften. Soak the dried chillies in hot water. Give them twenty minutes to soften. Remove the stems and most of the seeds. Keep some of the soaking water.
3. Put the grated coconut in a blender. Add the soaked dried chillies. Add the coriander, cumin and peppercorns. Add the turmeric, garlic and ginger. Add a little of the warm water. Grind it into a very smooth paste. It must be genuinely very smooth. Grind it in stages, scraping down often.
4. Add water only as needed to move it. A wet grinder gives the best result. Rinse the kokum pieces in cold water. Soak them in warm water for ten minutes. Keep both the pieces and the water. Heat the coconut oil in a wide pan. Add the finely sliced onions to it.
5. Cook them for a good eight minutes. They should soften without browning much. Add the split green chillies in. Add the ground masala to the pan. Fry it over a steady medium heat. Stir it constantly so it does not catch. Give it a good five full minutes. Oil begins to separate at the edges. That separation is the sign it is ready.
6. Add the water and the kokum with its water. Add the chopped tomato if using it. Season the whole pan with salt. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Let it cook for about ten minutes. Never let it boil hard, which splits it.
7. Add more kokum to it if it is flat. Add water to it if it is too sharp. Adjust the salt at this point. Lay the fish steaks into the curry. Do not stir the pan after this point. Cover it and simmer very gently. Give the fish about eight minutes. Let it stand covered for ten minutes. Serving it is done hot with rice. Serve plain boiled rice alongside. It keeps two days refrigerated.

Technique

• Chillies are native to the Americas and reached India on Portuguese ships in the fifteen hundreds, spreading from Goa across the subcontinent; the curry existed before them in a different form, with heat coming from black pepper.
• Kokum is the dried rind of Garcinia indica, a fruit of the Western Ghats, and is a relative of Sri Lankan goraka, both dried rinds used across South Asia to sour and to preserve.
• Kashmiri chillies are used for colour rather than heat, which is why a Goan curry is bright red without being fierce; hotter chillies make it painful and duller.

Substitutions

• Tamarind paste stands in for kokum, though the sourness is different in character.
• Frozen or soaked desiccated coconut replaces fresh grated coconut.

Variations

• Prawns are cooked in exactly the same curry.
• Some cooks add ladies fingers or aubergine to the pot.
• Kingfish, pomfret and mackerel are the usual Goan fish.

History

Coconut and tamarind curry of the Konkan coast, transformed after the sixteenth century by chillies the Portuguese brought from the Americas.

Frequently asked questions

What is Goan Fish Curry?

Goan Fish Curry is a main from India: coconut, kokum and red-chili fish curry eaten with rice. Coconut and tamarind curry of the Konkan coast, transformed after the sixteenth century by chillies the Portuguese brought from the Americas.

How long does Goan Fish Curry take to make?

Goan Fish Curry takes 30 minutes of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Goan Fish Curry?

Yes, within limits. Tamarind paste stands in for kokum, though the sourness is different in character. Frozen or soaked desiccated coconut replaces fresh grated coconut.

What is the most important thing to get right in Goan Fish Curry?

Put the grated coconut in a blender. Add the soaked dried chillies. Add the coriander, cumin and peppercorns. Add the turmeric, garlic and ginger. Add a little of the warm water. Grind it into a very smooth paste. It must be genuinely very smooth. Grind it in stages, scraping down often.