Easy Monkfish Curry Recipe

Easy Monkfish Curry Recipe consists of meaty Monkfish fillets in a light coconut milk based curry sauce. This Indian Style Monkfish Curry is perfect for any weeknight meal. Just grab a bowl of rice or slices of crusty bread.

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: Easy Monkfish Curry Recipe, Monkfish Curry, Monkfish Curry Indian Style

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Servings: people

Calories: 241kcal

Author: Meghna

Ingredients

454 gms Wild caught Monkfish fillet cut into 2" chunks 1 pound
¼ onion paste
2 medium tomatoes boiled, peeled & made into paste about ½ cup
½ tbsp ginger garlic paste
½ cup Coconut Milk
1 cup Water for thin curry sauce perfect for rice
3 tbsp any neutral oil I used Coconut oil
Salt (to taste)

Dry Spices

For Tempering

½ tsp whole black mustard seeds
6 fresh curry leaves available in Indian grocery stores

Instructions

Fry the Monkfish Fillets

Wash the Monkfish fillet very well under running tap water several times. Though Monkfish has no such distinct odor or fishy smell yet if you want you may dip the fish fillet in enough water with 2 tbsp vinegar and salt and leave it that way until you are done with the rest of the prep work.
Pat dry the washed Monfish fillet and cut it into chunky pieces. Go for the size that you prefer. I used 2" inch nice and large chunks. The fillets shrink a bit while frying. Keep that in mind before dicing the fillets.
Smear the fish fillets with ½ tsp turmeric powder and salt according to taste. Coat them well with the help of your fingers. I gently rub them until well coated.
Set a Non stick pan over medium high heat. Add oil. When the oil becomes moderately hot gently release the flash marinated Monkfish fillets. Fry them both sides until the flesh begins to become opaque and they begin to shrink. It took me 3 mins approximately.
Set aside the shallow fried fish fillets. Use the same pan and the same oil for the rest of the recipe.

How to make the Monk Fish curry?

Lower the heat to medium. Allow the fish fried oil to cool down a bit otherwise the onion paste will burn and become bitter. This is very important.
Add the mustard seeds and the curry leaves in the hot oil. Sizzle them for a few seconds or until the mustard begins to pop.
Gently release the onion paste and sauté it for about 1 min.
Next, add the ginger garlic paste. Mix well with the onion paste and fry them well until the raw aroma completely disappears and you see streaks of oil oozing out.
Now, add the tomato puree. Stir well to mix. At this stage the masala paste in the pan will begin to bubble.
Throw in all the dry spices. Mix well and fry everything very well until oil begins to leave the sides of the pan. You'll get a lovely aroma at this stage.
Add the tomato paste and mix well. Fry everyhting for about 1 min.
Reduce the heat and pour the coconut milk. Mix it vigorously with the rest of the ingredients until a smooth and silky lump free consistency is reached. Move the spatula briskly in clockwise direction to mix the coconut milk. Fry for 2-3 mins until you see streaks of oil appearing.
Next, add 1 cup water. Give everything a very good mix. Cover and simmer the fish curry sauce on medium low heat. 5 mins is all you need. You will see oil floating at the top and the color of the curry sauce slightly changing and becoming darker and more lovely.
It's time to add the shallow fried Monkfish fillets to the curry sauce. Add the fillets, coat them well with the sauce. Cover and simmer until the fish is completely cooked through. It took me another 3 mins approximately.
Adjust the consistency of the fish curry sauce. Add more water if you prefer a thin sauce perfect for rice or reduce the water quantity and keep the suace a little thicker perfect to enjoy some cursty bread. Choice is yours enjoy!

Notes

Measuring units used: 1 cup = 240 ml & 1 teaspoon = 5 ml.
Monkfish Curry Profile: Slightly sweet, hint of curry leaves flavor, extremely smooth, subtle flavors of Indian masalas and mildly spicy, coconutty.
Something about Tomatoes in the recipe: I boiled the tomatoes first and peeled them. Than I made a puree in a blender. The boiled tomatoes puree very well with the help of a fork too. You can also skip this whole step and use raw tomatoe puree instead. In that case, do fry the masala paste a little longer after adding the raw tomato puree. It takes a little longer to become nice and fragrant.
Why BOIL the tomatoes first: I do this often in few recipes to reduce the tartness of the tomatoes, to add a subtle roasted flavor to the dish and also to discard the tough skin of the tomatoes.
Note: Increase or decrease the amount of spice level according to your taste preference.
Note: Today's Easy Monkfish Curry Recipe is on the thinner side perfect to enjoy with some fluffy white rice. If you prefer thicker curry sauce reduce the water to ½ cup and enjoy the Monkfish Curry with some crusty Sour dough bread.
Over simmering the fish fillet will make them chewy and firm.

Nutrition Facts

Easy Monkfish Curry Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 241 Calories from Fat 99

% Daily Value*

Fat 11.02g17%

Cholesterol 77mg26%

Sodium 405mg18%

Potassium 693mg20%

Carbohydrates 4.57g2%

Fiber 1.1g5%

Sugar 1.52g2%

Protein 30g60%

Vitamin A 250IU5%

Vitamin C 3.3mg4%

Calcium 110mg11%

Iron 2.3mg13%

* Read our privacy policy - Calorie information is provided as a courtesy only and should be leveraged as an estimate rather than a guarantee.Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition