Name: Catfish Curry
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 kg catfish fillets cut into 2.5" rectangles or squares (2 pounds); 1 cup Onion sliced (1 medium onion); 1/2 cup tomato chopped (1 medium tomato); 2.5 tbsp Tomato Paste (store bought); 1/4 cup Tomato Puree (store bought); 5 dry kashmiri red chilies soaked in warm water or vinegar; 1/4 cup grated coconut (frozen or fresh); 1 tbsp roughly diced ginger; 1 tbsp garlic roughly chopped; 1/2 cup Mustard Oil (or any cooking oil); few drops of lemon juice (optional); Salt (to taste); 2 + 1/2 cups Water; 1 tbsp Black Peppercorns; 1.5 tbsp Coriander Seeds; 1 tbsp Whole Cumin Seeds; 2 tbsp Paprika or Deggi Mirch or Kashmiri Red Chili Powder; 1 tbsp Turmeric Powder; 1 tbsp Red Chili Powder (optional); Chopped coriander leaves (optional)

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Catfish Curry contains tender Catfish fillets pan fried first & than doused in an extremely delicious curry sauce made with onion, tomatoes & pantry staple spices. You can whip up this Indian Style Catfish Curry in no time. Don't miss the tips & the Video below.

catfish curry in an aluminum plate with a spoon — Catfish Curry Indian Style

Recipe Video

Catfish curry video

Catfish Curry Indian Style

You'll love this Catfish curry made in Indian Style because it's so simple.

Moreover, you don't need to hunt down fresh catfish for this recipe, the frozen varieties just work fine.

You may even tone down the spices or make it heavy on spices.

Same rule goes with the gravy consistency, make the gravy thicker or thinner according to your preference.

You can even make the gravy ahead, freeze it for future use.

Whenever you are ready to serve the catfish curry thaw the frozen gravy sauce, simmer it, add the fish fillets & surprise your family with a delicious fish curry dinner. Yum!

This Catfish Curry is a great way to incorporate more fish in your diet and when you choose to use fresh fish fillets the load of work is comparatively much lesser as compared to handling a whole catfish with bone in.

But, fish fillets are sometimes difficult to handle ain't they? They are very soft and hence, fragile.

I'll share with you a smart trick or two to avoid a broken fish fillet disaster in the fish gravy 😀

So, let's make the gravy which involves minimal sautéing and is minus the laborious Indian cooking technique.

This Catfish curry is fast, easy, simple, delicious and an excellent candidate for make ahead recipes.

Catfish curry Indian style being lifted from plate — Catfish Curry made with fresh catfish fillets

Indian Catfish Curry Ingredients

Catfish curry ingredients in bowls on a white surface — Catfish Curry Ingredients

Fillet Catfish: I used fresh catfish fillets. You can use frozen fillets or bone in whole catfish made into steaks.
Onion: Roughly sliced cut into squares.
Garlic: Cubed or roughly diced.
Ginger: Roughly diced or cubed.
Tomato: Roughly chopped.
Dry Kashmiri red chilies: Soaked in warm vinegar or water.
Tomato paste
Tomato sauce or puree.
Whole spices: Coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black peppercorns.
Spice powders: Turmeric powder & Kashmiri red chili powder or deggi mirch powder.
Grated coconut: Use fresh or frozen (thawed).
Cooking oil: I used mustard oil. You can any cooking oil that you prefer.
For garnish: Chopped coriander leaves. Now, this is totally optional & thus, it's not photographed above with the other ingredients.

How to make the catfish fillets less fragile so that they don't break in the gravy?

You can make the catfish fillets less fragile and prevent them from breaking in the fish curry by following these easy steps mentioned below:

Fry the fish fillets until golden before adding them to the Indian catfish curry.
Do not simmer the Fish fillets in the curry more than 1 min.
Handle the catfish fillets carefully while serving.

Indian catfish curry garnished with cilantro — Easy Catfish Curry - absolutely delicious

Indian Catfish Curry - Tips & Tricks

Don't like Fishy smell, do this instead: Soak the catfish fillets in a few drops of vinegar or lemon juice for 15 mins to kill the fishy smell. Catfish has no such distinct smell.
Fry the fish fillets first: Yes, do this to add extra flavors to the catfish curry. Skillet frying the fish fillets will lock the juices in the fish. Smear the fish fillets with a pinch of turmeric powder, chili powder, salt & a few drops of lemon juice. Fry them both sides until lightly golden in color.
Do not over roast or burn the masala ingredients: Sauté the masala ingredients over medium heat. Cover and simmer with water. This process will extract all the essential flavors from each ingredient and will make the catfish gravy extra delicious.
Grind the cooked masala ingredients into a fine paste: There should not be any textures or lumps left in the finely ground masala paste.
Strain the finely ground masala paste: To get that smooth and silky consistency in your fish gravy do strain the masala paste. It won't take much of your time.
Do not over fry the strained masala paste: This very important. Add it to oil, sauté for a few seconds, add water, cover & simmer. Frying it for longer time will leave a pungent taste in the finished catfish curry.
Add the fish fillets to the gravy just before serving & do not simmer much: This will give you the best tasting and the best looking Indian catfish curry ever. After adding the fish fillets, cover & simmer on low just for 1 min, immediately turn off the flame and allow the catfish curry Indian style rest for a few more mins. The fish fillets won't get over cooked, they won't break. The fish fillets will release just the right amount of taste to the gravy.

How to make Catfish Curry?

Steps in words below pictures

Step by Step images of Cat Fish Curry recipe

catfish curry recipe made with catfish fillets — Catfish curry in a smooth curry sauce

Time needed: 20 minutes.

How to make Catfish Curry?

Fry the Catfish Fillets
Smear the fish fillets with turmeric, red chili powder, lemon juice & salt. Fry them over medium high heat until golden from both sides.
Sauté the whole Spices
Use the same fish fried oil and sauté the whole spices for a few seconds.
Add the diced ginger garlic & Sauté
Throw in the diced ginger and garlic and sauté with the rest of the ingredients.
Sauté the sliced onion
Add the sliced onion and sauté well for 1-2 mins.
Add tomatoes and sauté
Sauté the chopped tomatoes until they turn mushy. Also add the dry spices and the grated coconut. Saute everything together.
Mix in the Kashmiri chilies & the tomato paste + puree
Add the soaked Kashmiri red chilies, tomato paste and tomato puree. Mix well.
Cover & cook
Add warm water, mix well. Cover & cook until the onion is softened.
Grind and strain the masala
Grind the cooked masala and strain to get a smooth paste.
Cook the strained masala paste
Heat some oil in a pan, add the strained masala paste, dilute with little water and cover and simmer for few minutes.
Add the fried fish fillets
Throw in the fried fish fillets and simmer for about 1 min.

Storing Tips

You can store today's Catfish Curry for 4 days in the fridge.

You can even freeze the semi cooked catfish curry for 1 month. This exactly how you can do so:

After grinding the cooked masala ingredients, strain it and than store it in freezer safe container and freeze immediately.
When ready to serve simmer the thawed masala paste with water, add the fried fish fillets and simmer for 1 min. You can find the steps in details in the recipe card below.