I’ve read a lot about fish curries but had never made one. Not sure why, since I love curries and I love fish. I think I expected the fish to be mushy or something like that, but when I had some extra white fish from Costco, I realized it would be perfect for a cooked curry. This was one of those spur of the moment Costco purchases that I wasn’t too thrilled with after trying it. The package said it was a wild caught Australian fish, but it was one that I’d never heard of. It was supposed to be very popular in Australia.  Anyway, when I cooked up a few fillets, I realized they were too dense and not flavorful enough for a sauteing with just butter and rosemary, but they were a good choice for a curry.  I think any dense white fish would work for this recipe, but I wouldn’t use anything with a delicate flavor, as it will be more than covered up by the curry.

Step 1:
Sprinkle some turmeric and a very small amount of salt onto both sides of two fillets of any dense white fish.  Let these sit while you make the curry paste.

Step 2:
Coarsely chop 3 cloves of garlic, about a third of a small onion, a piece of ginger about an inch square, two jalapenos (remove the seeds if you don’t want it too spicy), and put these coarsely chopped pieces into a small food processor.  Add 1.5 teaspoons each of: turmeric, corriander, and garam masala.  Blend this mixture, adding water or vegetable oil as needed to blend into a paste.

Step 3:
Cut the fish into bite sized pieces.  Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium high heat.  When the foam has subsided, add the fish and pan fry until the outsides are golden brown, about 3 minutes.  You will have to flip the pieces, or simply stir them as they fry to cook each side.  Remove the pieces of fish to a plate covered by a paper towel, but you can leave the remaining butter in the pan.

Step 4:
With the same pan containing the butter, keep the heat on medium high and add about 1/4 cup of onions sliced very thin.  You may have to add a little vegetable oil to the pan, depending on how much butter you have lef.  When the onions are translucent and starting to crisp on the ends, add the curry paste and stir well to combine. 

Then add about 1.5 cups of pureed tomato. You can use fresh or canned.  Stir and cook the mixture until it has thickened.  Add the cooked fish and a third cup coconut milk or half and half.

Cook over medium low until the fish is fully warmed. Serve over basmati or jasmine rice.  I also served a potato spinach indian dish with this curry and the combination was really nice.