Fish Molee Curry

Delicious with any firm white fish. This is a version of fish curry made in Kerala, a southern state of India. It’s a simple recipe but elegant and tasty recipe that you can enjoy with a side of rice or naan.

Key Tips

• For this recipe, we will pan fry the fish on it’s own first and then add it to the molee curry. You could directly add the raw fish into the curry and cook the fish in the curry sauce as well. But the fish tends to break apart while cooking. Pan frying the fish first, then adding it to the curry works better if you are using a delicate white fish. Moreover the slightly browned crust adds a nice touch to the finished recipe.
• I do use Indian curry spices in this recipe, so a quick trip to the Indian store or local grocery story that carries spices may do. But these species are what you’ll use in multiple different Indian, African or maybe in Mexican recipes, so worth stocking up your pantry with these.
• Be sure to shake the can of coconut milk before you use it. Canned coconut milk always separates into 2 layers at room temp, solid coconut cream at the top and the liquid water at the bottom.

How to prepare the Fish?

Any firm white fish would work well. For this recipe I have used Cod, but you can use pollock, halibut, etc. Tilapia will fall apart, if using, pan fry it and then add it to the sauce at the very end.

Ingredients for the Fish:

• 1 Lb firm white fish like cod pieces
• 2 tbs Lemon Juice
• Salt, Pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric
• 2tbsp Olive oil

Method used to cook the Fish

1. Cut up the fish into the size you’d like, I’d recommend 2 inch pieces. If the fish you are using is smaller size fillets, you may leave them whole as a fillet.
2. Sprinkle the pieces of fish with the lemon juice, salt, pepper and turmeric.
3. Let the fish marinate for 15-20mins.
4. After that, heat up a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Turn the heat to medium, add the fish when hot and cook until the fish is browned on both sides and cooked through.
5. Take the fish out of the pan and let it sit in a plate when you are cooking the Molee sauce.

How to make the Molee sauce?

The coconut milk here works really well with the fish. The spices are mild, you may completely avoid the Jalapenos if you do not like the heat or use just 1 for the flavor and a tiny bit of heat. It’s important that you cook the sauce at a simmer. If you like the sauce creamy and thick, you can avoid the broth. This might be a good idea if you are serving this with Naan instead of rice. With rice, I like a little lighter sauce so I add some broth. I always use full fat coconut cream and dilute it with broth rather than getting a low fat coconut milk.

Ingredients for the Fish:

• 1 large yellow onion thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1tbsp mustard seeds (optional)
• 1-2 Jalapeno chillies thinly sliced, seeds removed
• 6-7 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 tbsp of grated ginger
• 4 cloves
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1tsp ground coriander
• 1cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 15 oz can of coconut milk
• 6-7 curry leaves
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method to make the Molee sauce:

Here is the method to make the sauce:

1. In a large deep frying pan, heat the olive oil. When hot, add the mustard seeds and let it sputter. They’ll start to jump when this happens.
2. Add the onions and turn the heat to medium. Cook until the onion has softened and looks translucent about 5-6 mins.
3. Add the garlic, ginger and sliced jalapenos and cook for another 2-3 mins.
4. Add the turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander and the cloves and fry with the onion mixture for 2 minutes.
5. Stir in the can of coconut milk, broth, the curry leaves and salt and bring it to a simmer. Do not bring it to a boil, always cook the coconut milk at a simmer.
6. Simmer this sauce for 15-20 mins. Adjust the salt as needed.
7. Add the fish into the sauce and cook until it’s heated through, should only take couple mins.
8. Stir in the finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves if using.

Serve with Rice or Roti or Naan. Enjoy!