Fragrant Fish Stew

This recipe is very similar to the South Indian Kerala fish eshtew”, a term endearingly mispronounced for stew. It comes together very quickly that’s because unlike elaborate Indian curries the idea is to steep the aromatics and whole spices in coconut milk.

I used boneless fillets of fresh wild Pacific Rock Fish. There’s nothing wrong with frozen fish but I prefer the texture of fresh fish. Use any firm sustainable white fish for this recipes. Good choices are cod, red snapper, trout. I’d avoid Salmon or tuna somehow oily fish with distinct flavors don’t do well with this type of curry.

The whole spices are not to be eaten, if you so happened to serve yourself some just push it to the side of the plate. I know it’s annoying to bite into a whole piece of cardamom but that’s how it’s traditionally done. Sorry!

Serve this as a soup with rice for a light meal. Makes about 4 servings

Heres how

• 1.5 lbs of firm white fish
• 1 cup diced carrots, cauliflower peas
• 1 medium sized onion sliced thinly
• 2 inch piece ginger thinly sliced
• 1-2 tablespoons any neutral oil, I used avocado
• 3-4 kaffir lime leaves or 1 sprig curry leaves
• 6 whole green cardamom
• 2 black cardamom
• 2 inch piece cinnamon
• 3 cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 star anise
• 2 whole green chillies slit and de seeded if you like it mild
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 can light coconut milk, if you like it thicker and richer use full fat coconut milk
• sliced lime to serve with
• rice to serve with

Directions

In a large sauce pan warm the oil and add the sliced onions. Sauté for 3-4 minutes till they begin to soften. Add the whole spices and cook further till you smell the spices. Add the vegetables, ginger, chillies, turmeric and kafir or curry leaves. Add the coconut milk and water and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for a minute. Add the fish pieces and gently cook on a simmer without breaking the pieces. About 8-10 minutes till the fish is opaque, firm and cooked. Let the stew sit for 5 minutes for the flavors to steep in well. Serve with steamed brown basmati rice. The whole spices are not to be eaten. If you get one in your plate just push it aside.