Fish Curry — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Thick cuts of tuna or seer fish simmered in a dark, tamarind-sour coconut curry with roasted spices, goraka, and curry leaves — the essential centerpiece of a coastal Sri Lankan rice-and-curry meal.

Ingredients

500g tuna or seer fish, cut into thick steaks
200ml coconut milk
1 cup water
1 onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 cm ginger, sliced
1 piece goraka (garcinia)
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp roasted curry powder
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
10 curry leaves
2 green chilies, slit
1 tomato, quartered
1 tbsp tamarind paste
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 sprig pandan leaf

Instructions

1 Rub fish pieces with turmeric and salt. Set aside for 10 minutes.
2 Heat coconut oil in a clay pot. Add fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, and pandan leaf. Sauté for 30 seconds.
3 Add onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook until softened. Add chili powder, roasted curry powder, and goraka.
4 Pour in water and tamarind paste. Bring to a simmer.
5 Gently place fish steaks in the simmering sauce. Add tomato and green chilies. Cook for 10 minutes without stirring (to prevent fish from breaking).
6 Pour coconut milk around the edges. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Adjust salt. Serve with rice.

Did You Know?

Sri Lankan cooks insist fish curry must be made in a clay pot — the porous surface absorbs and releases flavors over years of use, making old pots more valuable than new ones.