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Recipe-1 › Curries of the world › Goan fish curry

Goa, India

Goan fish curry (Xitt kodi)

A bright, coconut-based fish curry from the Konkan coast, made sour with kokum or tamarind and red with dried Kashmiri chillies. The flavour comes from a ground coconut masala instead of chilli powder.

Same steps, different flavour base Medium

Too hot for you? Use half the chilli (powder, paste or fresh chillies) and leave out the green chillies.

New here? How this page works

Recipe-1 is one simple curry recipe in nine steps: fry onions and green chillies, add your vegetables or meat, add chilli powder and turmeric, then water and salt, and boil. With small changes the same nine steps make curries from all over the world.

This page takes those nine steps and shows what to change to make Goan fish curry. You don’t need to read anything else first: every base step is written out below. The changes are worked out on paper from what is typical for this dish; not yet kitchen-tested. Cooked it? Tell others how it went.

Green: the base recipe step (crossed out = do not use it for this dish)Red: what to do instead for Goan fish curry

See the full base recipe (with timers and tips) · See all curries on the world map

You’ll need

How many people?4

The amounts change with the number of people; cooking times stay about the same (use a bigger pot for more). Taste as you go: you can always add more chilli or salt, but you cannot take it out.

Main ingredient: 500 g Firm fish such as kingfish, pomfret or mackerel, in thick slices.

From the base recipe

  • 1 Onions
  • 2 Green chillies
  • 2 tbsp Cooking oil
  • Red chilli powder not used
  • ½ tsp Turmeric
  • 1 tsp · 400 ml Salt and water
  • Ginger garlic paste not used
  • Cloves, cardamom and cinnamon not used
  • Garam masala (optional) not used

Add for Goan fish curry

  • 100 g Grated coconut (or coconut milk)
  • 6–8 Dried red chillies
  • 1 tbsp · 1 tsp Coriander seeds and cumin
  • 4 Garlic
  • 1 tbsp Tamarind or kokum
  • 1 Tomato (optional)

Leave out

  • Vegetables
  • Whole spices and garam masala

The nine steps, with the changes

Where a step has a red line, do the red line and not the crossed-out green base step. Steps with only green are done just as in the base recipe.

  1. Base step: do not useCut onions and chillies.

    Goan fish curry: do thisCut one onion and slit two green chillies.

  2. Fry in some oil for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.

  3. Base step: do not useCut the vegetable(s) of your choice.

    Goan fish curry: do thisInstead of vegetables, grind the coconut with dried red chillies, coriander seeds, cumin, turmeric, garlic and a little tamarind into a smooth paste.

  4. Base step: do not useAdd them and fry for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.

    Goan fish curry: do thisAdd this coconut masala to the onions and fry for about 4 minutes.

  5. Base step: do not useAdd red chilli powder and turmeric.

    Goan fish curry: do thisSkip the chilli powder (the red chillies are in the masala). Skip the whole spices and garam masala.

  6. Base step: do not useKeep frying until just before they start browning.

    Goan fish curry: do thisFry until the masala smells cooked, without letting the coconut brown.

  7. Base step: do not useAdd some water.

    Goan fish curry: do thisAdd water to make a thin, pourable gravy.

  8. Add salt.

  9. Base step: do not useBoil until the gravy is as thick as you like.

    Goan fish curry: do thisBoil for 5 minutes, then slide in the fish and simmer gently for 5–7 minutes without stirring hard.

Serve: With plain boiled rice.

For meat and seafood, make sure it is cooked through: chicken until no pink remains inside; mutton, goat and beef need long, slow cooking.

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