Fish curry & rice is the staple of many coastal towns of India including Mangalore. Every Mangalorean worth his salt relishes his fish cooked in a gravy or fried in various forms – tawa fry, masala fry, rawa fry. Accordingly there are various ways to cook fish in a gravy. While most types of fish are stewed in coconut based gravies, some are cooked in other masalas (red chilly paste or green masala). This recipe is a common & general one which can be used for fish such as Surmai, Pomfret, Gol, Rawas, Lady fish etc
The below video recipe is for 1 kg fish and with a higher quantity of spice.
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Mangalorean Fish Curry
An absolutely basic and easy recipe that suits almost all kinds of fish that are popularly eaten in and around Mangalore. It takes less than 25-30 minutes to put together and is a lot healthier than other recipes as oil is very minimally used.
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Ingredients
- 1/2 kg fish cleaned & cut into slices
For the Masala:
- 3/4 th cup grated coconut
- 4-5 dry red chillies preferably bedgi variety
- 3-4 peppercorns
- 1 marble size ball of tamarind
- 1 medium sized onion
- 4 flakes garlic
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds methi
For Seasoning:
- 1 small onion finely sliced
- 1 inch piece ginger finely chopped
Instructions
- Grind all the ingredients for the masala with a little water. Leave it a little coarse
- Clean the fish & wash it well with salt & turmeric & put it in a colander so that the water gets drained well
- Heat oil & fry the chopped ginger & onion for seasoning
- When the onion turns golden brown add the masala & fry till the raw smell is gone
- Add a little water to make a gravy of medium thickness. Dont add too much water as the fish will leave some water making the gravy too thin
- Boil the gravy & then add the fish pieces. Let this cook for about 1 minute on medium flame
- Turn off the flame & garnish with a little chopped coriander leaves (optional)
Disclaimer
The nutritional values are only indicative.
Tried this recipe?Please leave a comment & rate the recipe below or share a photo on Instagram and tag me @ruchikrandhap
Hey Shir!!
Only 1 minute the fish needs for cooking? please confirm…
Love ,
Samy
Samy, 1 minute when the curry is on a rolling boil, if you are simmering it, then a couple of minutes. Actually fish should never be overcooked as it continues to cook in its steam even after you take it off the flame and especially so for delicate fish like Kane or small sized fish. If you have large surmai (king fish) slices you can simmer it for 2 minutes…hope this helps!
Sam, it also depends on what variety/quality of fish you get there, like for example, we get large Kane (Lady fish) in Mumbai with slightly tougher meat than what we get in Mangalore, so you can use your judgement, remember that overcooked fish will fall apart (crumble) – 'kispaartha' as we say in Konkani, if you overcook it.
Thanks Shir!..:) I definitely dun want a kispaartha fish..hahaha. Keep up the good hard work:)
Hehe, good luck Sam & lemme know how it turns out 🙂 and thanks for the compliment, it means a lot to me, hugs!
Made this yesterday.. a super hit !!!
Thanks a ton Olma! Glad u liked it!
Shireen you are too good dear. God Bless You!
@ Laura: Thanks so much 🙂
Excellent recipe.From now on I will always follow this recipe for fish gravy.it's just yummy. Thanks.
would it be possible to post sangtair curry recipe (catfish)
What about pomfret? Still 1 min only ?
@ Bianca Lobo: It depends on the size of the pomfret..if you use baby pomfrets then it will take lesser than the bigger size. Please use your judgement
hi
can u post some receipe for black pompfret.
And thank u so much . please keep on posting some cookies and other mangalorean fish fry and curry receipe
Hi Daina,
I will definitely post recipes for black pomfret soon! Do stay tuned for more recipes!
excellent !!! Thank you Shireen..fish curry with panpalle everyone enjoyed it.
Thanks so much for your feedback Marina!
My thumb rule which has never failed – Fish in on rolling boil – 5 minutes with lid off. Allow to cool and serve with whatever dressing you may choose.
Sounds good! The cooking time may vary according to the type and size of the fish
Thank you for this recipe, its simple and easy and not too hot, my daughters enjoyed it.
So glad to hear that your daughters enjoyed it Sunita! Thanks for the feedback!
Hi,
Thank you so much for the recipe. I live in Dubai too. I wanted to ask you where do you source the mangalore source the mangalore spices from in Dubai? Is there a store in Dubai where they sell Mangalore spices like – rotti, rose cookies, baffat masala, ghee roast masala, bedgi chillies.. I have recently moved to Dubai. So wanted to check with you.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Anu,
Well, I buy bafat powder, bedgi chillies and tamarind from Mangalore itself but for the rest you have Al Adil stores. I make ghee roast masala myself – you can check the recipe for Kundapur Taal masala on my website. The rotti is available at Winny’s confectionary behind Karama fish market and also at Prince Sweets, Karama (near Lulu Hypermarket)
I enjoy all your recipes. All recipes are up to the mark. Keep posting ❤️
Thanks a lot for that wonderful feedback Daisy!
Hi Shireen
Thanks for the recipe. Which chilly should be used for spicy fish masala like for cat fish or macarel ???
Hi Wilma,
You can use Bedgi chillies which are spicier than the Kashmiri variety. In Mlore we also use the short chillies – Harekala variety which I doubt would be available outside Mangalore
Prepared the curry just now with fresh RAWAS.
THE AROMA BOUGHT BACK MEMORIES OF MY MOM, WHO USED A STONE GRINDER.
NEXT is mandeli.
That’s fantastic! Thanks for the great review of this recipe!
It’s very simple and tasty. Thank you so much.
So glad you liked it! Thanks for the feedback!
Simply delicious! I’ve tried so many of your recipes- always on point and a reminder of my childhood
Thank you so much for the lovely comment!
Your video shows a different method from the written one
Is the video preparation without oil ??
Hi Charmaine,
You are right. This type of fish curry is pretty common in Mangalore and people make it with mild changes. In one, we fry the masala first and then add the water to adjust the consistency. In the other, the gravy is boiled first and then we add the tempering. You can try either of them.