Coconut Milk Fish Fish curry Indian Kerala Main Dish Thas's Faves

Fish in Coconut Milk or Fish Moilee and My Interview

Fish in coconut milk, one of my favorite Kerala style fish dishes…

I had a great day yesterday, I gracefully entered into my 30’s. Honestly, I don’t feel depressed nor frustrated to hit the big 3-oh, instead I feel excited and blessed to have lived in this beautiful world surrounded by wonderful people and great experiences. I’ve enjoyed each and every phase of my life, however I truly adore this phase of my life where I feel confident and focused. Through my life’s journey, I’ve learned and experienced a lot of things which helped to strengthen my inner self and moulded me to the kind of person I am today. I’ve always believed in myself and have done the things that felt right to me.

My yesterday’s excitement doubled when I saw my interview article at Friends Eat. You can read it here.

Now, coming to this recipe. When we think about kerala fish dishes, usually spicy and tangy fish curries come to our mind. Well, this recipe is quite a different one, it’s rich, creamy and less spicy as coconut milk is added to make this. This is more of a fish moilee variation as the authentic fish moilee has yellow color and is more creamy.

Fish in Coconut Milk

Ingredients

For marinating fish:

  • Fish, king fish or pomfret (pompano)- 2, cut into round slices
  • Chili powder- 1 tsp
  • Coriander powder- 1 tsp
  • Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
  • Ground Pepper- 1/4 tsp
  • Lemon juice- 1 tsp
  • Salt- to taste

For frying:

  • Oil- for frying fish

While cooking:

  • Oil used for frying fish- 3 tbsp
  • Red Onion, cut long and thin- 2
  • Curry leaves- 1 sprig
  • Ginger-Garlic paste- 2 tsp
  • Coriander powder- 1 tsp
  • Ground pepper- 1/8 tsp
  • Tomatoes, chopped- 2
  • Coconut milk, thin- 1/2 cup (if using canned coconut milk, add water to the thick coconut milk to thin it down)
  • Coconut milk, thick- 1/2 cup
  • Garam masala- 1/2 tsp

Instruction

  1. Cut the fish into round slices. I prefer King fish and pomfret for making this.
  2. Marinate the fish with the above mentioned ingredients ‘for marinating the fish’, keep aside for 15 minutes.
  3. Shallow fry the marinated fish in oil and transfer to a paper towel.
  4. Place a large pan or claypot over medium heat.
  5. Add 3 tbsp of oil used for frying fish.
  6. Add onions and curry leaves along with little salt to the oil, saute till onions starts to turn translucent.
  7. Add ginger garlic paste to it and saute for a minute.
  8. Add coriander powder and ground pepper to it, combine well.
  9. Add thin coconut milk and combine well, cook it for a minute.
  10. Add the fried fish to the coconut milk and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.
  11. Add tomatoes, let it cook for a minute. Don’t over cook the tomatoes.
  12. Now, pour the thick coconut milk, gently mix it without breaking the fish and let it simmer for a few minutes.
  13. Don’t let the coconut milk come to a boil.
  14. Taste and adjust salt accordingly.
  15. Finally sprinkle garam masala over the fish curry and cook for a few seconds.
  16. Remove from the heat, cover the pan with its lid and let stand for sometime so that the flavors will get into the fish.
  17. Serve with rice, chapathi, idiyappam, orotti etc.

 

Fish in Coconut Milk or Fish Moilee and My Interview
 
Ingredients
For marinating fish
  • Fish, king fish or pomfret (pompano)- 2, cut into round slices
  • Chili powder- 1 tsp
  • Coriander powder- 1 tsp
  • Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp
  • Ground Pepper- ¼ tsp
  • Lemon juice- 1 tsp
  • Salt- to taste
For frying
  • Oil- for frying fish
While cooking
  • Oil used for frying fish- 3 tbsp
  • Red Onion, cut long and thin- 2
  • Curry leaves- 1 sprig
  • Ginger-Garlic paste- 2 tsp
  • Coriander powder- 1 tsp
  • Ground pepper- ⅛ tsp
  • Tomatoes, chopped- 2
  • Coconut milk, thin- ½ cup (if using canned coconut milk, add water to the thick coconut milk to thin it down)
  • Coconut milk, thick- ½ cup
  • Garam masala- ½ tsp
Instructions
  1. Cut the fish into round slices. I prefer King fish and pomfret for making this.
  2. Marinate the fish with the above mentioned ingredients 'for marinating the fish', keep aside for 15 minutes.
  3. Shallow fry the marinated fish in oil and transfer to a paper towel.
  4. Place a large pan or claypot over medium heat.
  5. Add 3 tbsp of oil used for frying fish.
  6. Add onions and curry leaves along with little salt to the oil, saute till onions starts to turn translucent.
  7. Add ginger garlic paste to it and saute for a minute.
  8. Add coriander powder and ground pepper to it, combine well.
  9. Add thin coconut milk and combine well, cook it for a minute.
  10. Add the fried fish to the coconut milk and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.
  11. Add tomatoes, let it cook for a minute. Don't over cook the tomatoes.
  12. Now, pour the thick coconut milk, gently mix it without breaking the fish and let it simmer for a few minutes.
  13. Don't let the coconut milk come to a boil.
  14. Taste and adjust salt accordingly.
  15. Finally sprinkle garam masala over the fish curry and cook for a few seconds.
  16. Remove from the heat, cover the pan with its lid and let stand for sometime so that the flavors will get into the fish.
  17. Serve with rice, chapathi, idiyappam, orotti etc.

AboutThas

Thas is the author of Cooking with Thas, a popular food blog with recipes from Indian, American and Fusion Cuisines. She has been blogging since 2009 and been featured in several magazines. Read more...