Coconut fish curry (macher malaikari) recipe
A creamy, coconut-based curry great with meaty white fish. It's everything you want from a simple, nourishing midweek supper: quick to make, a short ingredients list and, most importantly, flavoursome and comforting. The dish serves two as a main course or four as part of a multi-course meal.
This recipe is from Asma’s Indian Kitchen: Home-cooked food brought to you by Darjeeling Express by Asma Khan, published by Pavilion Foods. Photography by Kim Lightbody.
Ingredients
- 4 halibut, plaice or tilapia fillets (approximately 750g/1lb 10 oz)
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 large white onions, thinly sliced into half moons
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 1.5 tbsp fresh ginger paste
- 0.2 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 400ml/14fl oz tin full-fat coconut milk
- 1 pinch sugar
- 4 halibut, plaice or tilapia fillets (approximately 750g/1lb 10 oz)
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 large white onions, thinly sliced into half moons
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 1.5 tbsp fresh ginger paste
- 0.2 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 400ml/14fl oz tin full-fat coconut milk
- 1 pinch sugar
- 4 halibut, plaice or tilapia fillets (approximately 750g/1lb 10 oz)
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 large white onions, thinly sliced into half moons
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 1.5 tbsp fresh ginger paste
- 0.2 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 400ml/14fl oz tin full-fat coconut milk
- 1 pinch sugar
- 2 green chillis, finely sliced
- 1 handful coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped
- 2 green chillis, finely sliced
- 1 handful coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped
- 2 green chillis, finely sliced
- 1 handful coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped
Details
- Cuisine: Indian
- Recipe Type: Curry
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 15 mins
- Cooking Time: 25 mins
- Serves: 2
Step-by-step
- Place the fish fillets on a plate, sprinkle over half the ground turmeric and half the salt and rub into the fillets. Leave for a minimum of 10 minutes but no longer than 30 minutes.
- In a heavy-based frying pan (skillet), heat the oil over a medium-high heat.
- Add the sliced onions to the pan and fry gently, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and caramelised.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the onions from the pan, leaving as much of the oil in the pan as possible to cook the other ingredients, and place on a plate to drain. Spread the onions across the plate so they crisp as they cool.
- You should have enough oil left in the pan to fry the fish; if not, add another 1 tbsp vegetable oil. In the same pan, flash-fry the fish fillets for 20–30 seconds on both sides to seal. Do not allow the fish to cook.
- Remove the fish from the pan and set aside on a plate.
- Keeping the heat at medium-high, add the garlic and ginger pastes to the pan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the remaining ground turmeric and the chilli powder. If the pastes stick to the base of the pan, sprinkle over some water.
- Add the tomato purée, 4 tbsp warm water, the remaining salt and the fried onions, then cook for few minutes until the oil has seeped to the edges of the pan.
- Return the fish fillets to the pan and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk, then immediately remove the pan from the heat and carefully turn each fillet over.
- Taste the coconut milk and adjust the seasoning with sugar or salt as necessary.
- Before serving, garnish with sliced green chillis and chopped coriander.
This recipe is from Asma’s Indian Kitchen: Home-cooked food brought to you by Darjeeling Express by Asma Khan, published by Pavilion Foods. Photography by Kim Lightbody.
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