How to cook a fish curry

Fish is a popular curry ingredient in India, especially around the coast. Goa is famed for its fish curries, due to its vibrant and diverse culinary traditions being influenced by its coastal location.

We wanted to share some of our top tips for creating a delicious fish curry at home, suggesting our favourite fishes to use and the curries to use them in. Fish will cook quickly in your sauce so be careful not to overcook it! It is worth noting that fish will continue cooking in the pot, in the residual heat, so it is a good idea to have all other elements of the meal ready to serve before adding the fish to the sauce.

What type of fish should I use in a curry?

There are lots of different types of fish that you can use in your curries. With cod, snapper, sea bass and mackerel being great choices. If you're cutting up your fish and putting it in the curry, keep the chunks quite large or keep the skin on to help stop it falling apart too much.

Cooking fish whole? Cooking sea bream, sea bass or even mackerel under the grill or on a BBQ gives the fish an extra level of flavour. Then add the fish to your curry sauce. It's a messier way to serve your meal - but that's part of the fun!

Which Indian curry works best with fish?
The perfect fish curry is the Patia! This Parsi dish creates a light sauce, which is perfect for covering some fish, we suggest haddock or cod.

Our Goan Green is inspired by Goa which is famous for using lots of herbs and coconut, and that’s what this curry is all about! Enjoy this curry with some white, flaky fish and garnish with lime and chopped herbs.

A great curry for prawns is our Balti. Curry and fenugreek (methi) leaves add savoury tones to this tangy, tomato-based curry. Our Pea and Prawn Balti recipe takes no time to make and is perfect scooped up with some naan bread.

Add fresh crunchy veg along with fish to help provide a nice contrast - things like peas, green beans, peppers. Finish your fish curry off with a generous squeeze of fresh lemon/lime juice and be sure to pile on LOTS of fresh herbs!

We’d love to hear if these tips have helped you in the kitchen. Let us know your feedback on our Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. We love to see your curry creations, so please send us your foodie photos across.