GOAN FISH CURRY

Ingredients:
Fish – 1 lb, I used catfish steaks
Onion – 1 medium, chopped
Kokum – 2-3
Salt
For masala paste :
Fresh grated coconut – 1 cup
Byadagi chilies – 7-8
Onion – 1 small, sliced
Coriander seeds – 1 ½ tbsp
Whole black pepper – 10-12
Chopped Ginger – 1 tsp
Chopped Garlic – 1 tbsp
Fresh coriander leaves - 2tbsp

Cooking Procedure:
Wash the fish pieces properly. Rub them with salt and turmeric and keep in refrigerator. Discard the stems of chilies, if any and cut them into pieces. Soak the chilies in warm water and keep aside for 1-2 hours. Take little oil in a small pan and add the sliced onions and fry till golden brown. Now add the coriander seeds and fry till seeds get brown. Then add in the pepper and sauté for 30 sec. Remove the pan from heat and keep aside to cool. Combine all the ingredients for masala paste, including the chilies and grind to a fine paste.
In a big pan, heat some oil and add the chopped onions. Fry the onions till golden brown.

Now add the masala paste and fry till oil separates. Stir continuously so that the paste doesn’t stick. When the masala gets cooked you can see the oil oozing out from the sides. Then add 3-4 tbsp of water and continue stirring till oil separates. Adding little water will cook the spices. Make sure that you properly bhunofy/fry the masala paste, otherwise the masala paste will taste raw.

Now add salt and boiling water. For required consistency you can add as much or as little water as required. Then mix well and bring the curry to a boil. Boil for 5 mins. Now add the kokum and fish. Reduce the gas to medium and let the fish cook till its tender. It takes around 20-25mins. for fish steaks and 10-15 mins for fillet to cook . This curry can be served with plain rice.