Recipe for Fish Curry - How to Make Fish Curry

Here we have described Recipe for Fish Curry Bengali Style, which is very popular in the eastern state of West Bengal in India & the adjacent nation of Bangladesh. Recipe of Fish Curry Indian variety can be broadly divided into - Recipe of Fish Curry with coconut and Recipe for Fish Curry without Coconut.

Recipe of Fish Curry without Coconut

Ingredients Needed for Recipe of Fish Curry Bengali Style

1) Rohu Fish – 500 grams (half a kilo)

2) Green Chilli – 2 in number

3) Cumin Powder – ½ teaspoon

4) Coriander Powder – 1 teaspoon

5) Turmeric Powder – 1/4^th teaspoon for making curry & 1 big pinch for marination

6) Salt – ½ teaspoon for marination and 1/4^th teaspoon or, as per taste for making curry

7) Mustard oil – ½ cup for frying fish & 1 teaspoon for marination  

8) Panch Phoron (Indian 5 spice blend) - 1/8^th teaspoon

9) Water – ½ liter

10) Coriander leaves – 2 tablespoons (finely chopped)

How to Make Fish Curry at Home

• Wash the cut pieces of Fish thoroughly in clean normal water. The next step is to marinate the Fish. For this drain out the water fully and keep the fish pieces on a plate. Sprinkle a big pinch of Turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon Salt, and 1 teaspoon Mustard Oil over the fish & mix them uniformly with the cut fish pieces and keep them like this for 15 to 20 minutes.

• Next, put a Karahi/Deep vessel pan over a medium flame burner. Add mustard oil in it for frying the fish. Allow the oil to become very hot. When a little smoke starts to come out from the Karahi, then add 3 to 4 pieces of the marinated Fish into it for frying.
• After 3 to 4 minutes, the pieces of fish should be turned over so that they get properly fried from both sides. Now take out the fish pieces from the oil in the Karahi/Deep vessel pan and keep them on a clean plate.

• Now reduce the flame of the burner to low flame mode. Take Turmeric powder, Cumin powder & Coriander powder in a bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of water to it and mix the components uniformly and make a paste.
• Split longitudinally the green chillis from the middle and keep them aside. In the remaining oil present in the Karahi, add Panch Phoron (spice blend consisting of seeds of – Cumin, Brown Mustard, Fenugreek, Nigella & Fennel) and fry them for a minute. When a nice aroma of Panch Phoron starts to come out then add the previously prepared masala paste in it and stir it constantly so that the components do not get burnt.
• When a nice smell of the masala starts to come out then add green chili to it and sauté for only 1 minute and add water in it. Now change the flame of the burner from low to medium. Add salt in it, cover the lid of the Karahi and let it boil. As the gravy starts to boil, add fried fish pieces into it and cover the lid of Karahi again. Let it boil for 7 to 8 minutes.

• Next switch off the burner.
• Transfer the fish to a serving bowl and spread Coriander leaves. This brings us to the end of the Recipe to make Fish curry. The Fish curry is now ready for serving to your guests. The fish curry tastes best with steamed rice.

Recipe of Fish Curry with Coconut Milk

Ingredients Needed in Recipe for Fish Curry Bengali Style

1) Fish – 500 grams, cut into pieces (Only the ventral portion of the fish is used)

2) Mustard Oil – ½ cup for frying fish & 1 teaspoon for marination

3) Salt – ½ teaspoon or as per taste for making curry & 1/4^th teaspoon for marination

4) Turmeric Powder – A small pinch

5) Onion – 1 of medium size

6) Ginger – ½ inch long strip

7) Chilli powder - A big pinch or according to taste

8) Sugar – 1 teaspoon

9) Coconut Milk – 1 cup

How to Make Fish Curry at Home

• Make a paste of Onion and Ginger by using a grinder and keep it aside separately. Wash the pieces of fish thoroughly in normal water. Then drain out water fully from the fish. Marinate the fish pieces by keeping it in a mixture of turmeric powder, oil & salt for 20 minutes.
• Later put a non-stick Karahi/Deep vessel pan on a medium flame burner. Add oil in the vessel for frying and allow it to become hot. When oil gets hot enough then add 2 to 3 pieces of marinated fish in it and fry properly from both sides, very gently, otherwise the fish may break. Next, take out the fish pieces from the Karahi and put them on a clean plate. Like this way fry all the pieces of fish.
• Now in the same oil remaining in Karahi, put the onion paste and stir a little bit. After 1 to 2 minutes add ginger paste in it and fry properly in a low flame, till its pungent smell goes away. Then add chili powder to it and at once add coconut milk into it. Next, add salt & sugar along with the fish pieces to the previous contents. Let it boil till the gravy becomes thick and the fish pieces get softened.

• If required (the preparation becomes very dry) then add a little water to the contents & switch off the burner. The whole preparation should be prepared in a very low flame.
• This brings us to the end of Recipe for Fish Curry. Transfer the now ready Fish curry preparation to a serving bowl, as now it can be served to your friends & family members. Fish Curry is taken with Rice, Biriyani, or Pulao.

• The above-described Recipe of Fish Curry Bengali style is very commonly taken in the eastern parts of India. However, Recipe of Fish Curry with Coconut is also very popular in the southern Indian state of Kerala & on the western coast of Goa. However, these preparations may differ a little from the Recipe for Fish Curry described above.