Kerala Fish Curry combines tender, flaky fish with a rich, fiery sauce. Its flavor comes from a combination of earthy and hot spices and creamy coconut milk.
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Kerala fish curry, or meen kuzhambu, is a staple of Kerala cuisine. This seafood dish is often made with small fish like sardines or anchovies. I like to make it with larger, meatier fish like mackerel, halibut, cod, or even salmon.
The spicy fish curry usually includes onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, fenugreek seeds, black mustard seeds, ground red chile, coriander powder, and turmeric powder, along with coconut milk and curry leaves.
You can vary the heat level according to your personal preference by adding more or less chile powder or fresh chiles.
Why you’ll love Kerala style fish curry
Kerala, sits on the southern coast of India and is known for its idyllic backwaters, stunning beaches, and flavorful, seafood-rich cuisine. Kerala’s cuisine incorporates ingredients and cooking styles from around the country.
Fitting squarely into this culinary landscape, this fish curry is one of the state’s signature dishes.
This simple red fish curry is a great example of Kerala-style cuisine. The fish is braised in a sauce made of ginger, garlic, green chiles, green chilies, dried spices (turmeric, black mustard seed, fenugreek, ground red chile), curry leaves, kokum (or tamarind paste or amchur, mango powder), and coconut milk.
The result is a beguiling dish of delicate, flaky fish braised in a flavorful and fiery spice-laden sauce. A generous splash of rich coconut milk tames the heat.
Ingredients You Need
For the complete list of ingredients with quantities and detailed prep and cooking instructions, please see the recipe card that appears at the end of this post.
Most of the ingredients in Kerala fish curry are easy to find. Here’s what you need:
- Fish—Use a meaty fish like halibut, cod, or salmon
- Coconut milk—Use full-fat coconut milk for this curry as it provides the right creaminess and thickens the sauce
- Oil—You can use any high smoke point oil like avocado oil, coconut oil, or peanut oil
- Fenugreek seeds—You can buy fenugreek seeds in an Indian market or online
- Black mustard seeds—Using the whole seeds and toasting them in the oil gives them unique flavor
- Curry leaves—You can buy these fresh in Indian markets. I sometimes see them frozen at 99 Ranch. If you can’t find them, substitute makrut lime leaves or fresh basil. The flavor won’t be the same, but it will still be delicious.
- Green chillies—you can use serranos or jalapenos
- Onion—Red, white, or yellow onion will all work fine in this fish curry, or substitute shallots
- Garlic-ginger paste—or substitute half and half minced fresh ginger and minced fresh garlic
- Kokum (Garcinia Indica, see below for information), seedless tamarind pulp, tamarind paste, amchur powder (dried green mango), or even lime juice in a pinch)
- Tomato—1 large diced tomato is perfect, or substitute 1 cup of canned diced tomato
- Turmeric powder or ground turmeric—This adds both intense color and a distinctive flavor
- Coriander powder or ground coriander—For earthy sweetness
- Kashmiri red chilli powder or any ground red chili—You can adjust the quantity to suit your personal preference for heat
- Cilantro—Use freshly chopped cilantro
What is Kokum?
Kokum, or Garcinia Indica, is a tropical fruit from India. It has a unique sweet-sour flavor and makes frequent appearances in dishes from Kerala including puli-kadala curry, sambar curry, and nei-imittu curry.
Kokum is difficult to find in the US, so I’ve offered a few possible substitutes. Seedless tamarind, tamarind paste, or amchur powder (mango powder) are available in Asian markets and some supermarkets. The flavors are different, but they all add the necessary acidity and make decent substitutes.
For this Kerala Fish Curry, you can substitute the freshly squeezed juice of a lime.
How to Make It
For the complete list of ingredients with quantities and detailed prep and cooking instructions, please see the recipe card that appears at the end of this post.
Despite having a slightly longer ingredient list, this Kerala Fish Curry recipe is easy to make. Here’s how:
- Soak the kokum or tamarind, if using, in warm water. After about 15 minutes, squeeze the fruit into the soaking water, reserving the liquid. Discard the fruit.
- Heat the oil in a medium skillet, and heat over medium-high heat. Add the fenugreek seeds, black mustard seeds, and curry leaves.
- Once the leaves start to splutter, add the green chilies and onions.
- Next, add the ginger paste, garlic paste, and tomatoes and saute.
- Now add the salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder, and chile powder and continue to cook.
- Add the fish along with the kokum or tamarind soaking water, if using, cover the skillet, and simmer until the fish is cooked through.
- Finally, add the coconut milk, and the amchur powder or tamarind paste if using in place of kokum/tamarind, and let the curry simmer for a few more minutes.
- Just before serving, garnish with the cilantro.
What to Serve with Kerala Style Fish Curry
Serve spicy curry with Butter Garlic Naan, Coconut Rice, roti, dosa, appam, or uttapam or basmati rice and vegetables.
Great starters would be Chicken Pakora, Paneer Pakora, Samosas, or Air Fryer Samosas. Serve any of these with Cucumber Raita, Cilantro Mint Chutney, Tamarind Date Chutney, or Garlic Chutney.
Kerala Fish Curry
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 kokum see note for substitution information
- 2 tablespoons oil
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- ¼ teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 5 or 6 curry leaves
- 2 to 3 green chiles such as serranos or jalapenos
- 1 onion sliced
- 2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
- 1 small tomato chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 ½ teaspoons red chile powder use more or less depending on your preference for spice
- 1 pound meaty fish halibut, cod, salmon, etc.
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Soak the kokum or tamarind in about 1/4 cup of warm water for 15 minutes, then squeeze the fruit to release any liquid, adding that to the soaking water. Reserve the soaking water and discard the fruit.
- Heat the oil in a medium skillet, and heat over medium-high heat. Add the fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, and curry leaves.
- Once the leaves start to splutter, add the green chilies and onions and cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Next, add the ginger paste, garlic paste, and tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Now add the salt, turmeric, coriander, and chile powder and cook, stirring constantly, for another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the fish along with the kokum or tamarind soaking water, if using, cover the skillet, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the fish is cooked through.
- Finally, add the coconut milk and the tamarind paste or amchur powder if subsittuting for the kokum/tamarind, and let the curry simmer for a few more minutes.
- Just before serving, stir in lime juice if using as a substitute for the kokum/tamarind, and garnish with the cilantro.
I watched the fishermen in Kerela with their huge iconic nets catch fish, this dish has transported me back to Kerela – delicious!
Amazing. I’ve been making more fish dishes and I love this one, it is so tasty with so many unique flavors.
I put the onion, ginger and garlic into a blender to make a paste, otherwise followed the recipe (using lime juice substitute).
WOW! What an excellent recipe!
I’ve printed it off and given it a place in my ‘Coveted Recipes’ ring binder. That is high praise indeed!
Thanks for sharing, Tom! I’m so glad you loved it!
Awesome