This recipe shows that you don’t have to have every spice under the sun to cook a good Indian curry. Nor do you need to be a connoisseur of Indian cuisine. Contrary to popular belief, making an authentic curry is actually pretty easy, especially if you keep the ingredients simple and use a few shortcuts.
For instance, I adore using freshly ground spices but don’t always have them on hand, so I keep a basic stock of ground spices at the ready. For this curry, apart from essentials like cumin, coriander and chili, I used the classic Indian spice mix garam masala, a flavorful blend of aromatic spices which added a warmness and slight sweetness to the dish.
In addition to the spices, I simply added canned tomatoes and coconut milk, as well as spinach, onion and garlic bought at a nearby farmer’s produce stall, plus a couple of fresh fish fillets procured from our local fishmonger, and a lemon from our own tree. Regional and seasonal food at its best!
Fish, Spinach and Tomato Curry
Serves 2
- 2 tablespoons canola or peanut oil
- 1 onion - finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic - finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 cup chopped canned tomatoes
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 2 cups washed, drained and roughly chopped fresh spinach
- 2 x 6 oz (180g) firm white fish fillets (such as snapper, cod or haddock)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
HEAT the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 8 minutes. ADD the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, then add the cumin, coriander and chili and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. ADD the tomatoes, coconut milk, garam masala and salt and bring to a boil. REDUCE the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. WHILE the curry simmers, bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan. STIR in the rice and keep stirring until the water returns to a boil. COVER the pot with a tight-fitting lid, reduce the heat to very low, and simmer the rice gently for 15 minutes. ADD the spinach to the curry and cook, covered, for 4 minutes, then add the fish and spoon the sauce over the fillets. COVER with a lid, and simmer for another 7 minutes. STIR in the lemon juice and serve on a bed of the rice.
5 Comments
I love the sound of adding in the lemon juice at the end…must really add a nice twist of freshness to the dish. And I’m jealous that you have your own lemon tree!
We’ve actually got several lemon trees, so we always have more lemons than we know what to do with! Luckily, many traditional Mediterranean and Asian recipes include lemon juice or lemon rind, so they don’t all go to waste.
I have to say this looks delicious! I have never tried a fish curry and I am so intrigued that I am making a point to try this out.
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I made this last weekend and it turned out fantastic! The leftovers were great too. I love curry and this is my new favorite. Has anyone tried it with shrimp or chicken yet??
Mike - It does actually taste as good as it looks, and it’s quick to make, so you should definitely try it out. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it as much as Andrew did
Andrew - Great to hear that the curry turned out so well — we adore this recipe too! And it works equally well with shrimp or chicken. Shrimp only needs to simmer for around four minutes, and bite-size pieces of chicken need to simmer for about 8 minutes.