Goan Fish Curry

It’s been a long time since I posted last. Had been quite busy whole of the month with DH’s birthday!! Making arrangements, sending invites, preparing gifts…quite taxing!! 🙂 However, everything went very well and everybody was happy, including DH and DD.

Today’s recipe is Goan fish curry or Nistia curry, as they call it in Goa. It’s an everyday staple in every Goan household. There’s a saying that it is difficult for konkanis to digest their food unless they get a fair share of fish curry everyday! And indeed that is so true. DH loves this curry. Good that after marriage I learnt how to prepare Nistia curry, else he would have missed Goan food big time!

The heart and soul of this curry is the masala paste, which needs to be prepared in the right way. In Goa they prepare different masala pastes depending on the kind of fish being used in the curry. Sometimes they use tempering (tadka), but most of the times the curry is only boiled without any tempering. Any-which ways it tastes delicious. However personally I love the taste when it is just boiled along with the fish. It is so healthy, heart-warming and appetizing :).

This red hot and spicy fish curry is enjoyed best with boiled rice and fish fry as an accompaniment.

Ingredients:

Fish – washed and cut into pieces (Any type of fish can be used; I have used Grey Mullet)

Coconut – 1/4 of a whole fresh coconut chopped into small pieces (alternatively you can use store-bought grated coconut)

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Dry red chillies – 10-12 (reduce the amount if you want less spicy)

Whole coriander seeds – 3-4 tbsp

Whole black peppercorns – 7-8

Whole cumin seeds – 1 tbsp

Onion – 2 small onions sliced

Garlic – 6-7 cloves

Ginger – 1 small piece

Green chillies – 4-5

Tamarind water – soak a small pulp of tamarind in luke warm water

Salt – according to taste

Method:

 

Take some oil in a pan and fry the onions, ginger and garlic.

Grind into a fine paste the following with a little water:

Coconut, turmeric powder, dry red chilles, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, fried onion ginger and garlic.

Above ingredients need to be blended for quite a few mins until we get a very smooth masala paste. It should be so smooth that we should not be able to feel the coarseness of the coconut anymore.

Take a pot. Put in the masala paste prepared. Mix the paste with some water. Let this boil for a while. Then put in the fish pieces, slit green chillies, salt and tamarind water. Boil the curry again for a few mins until the fish is done.

Enjoy with hot white rice.

 

 

 

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