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Surmai fish curry recipe, Goan seer fish curry in coconut gravy
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5 from 1 vote

Surmai Fish Curry (Seer Fish / King Fish Curry)

A Goan Saraswat-style curry made with surmai (seer fish/king fish) in a tangy coconut-tamarind gravy — no garlic, no onion-heavy base, just fresh coconut and spice.
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Goan
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 4 people
Author Raksha Kamat

Ingredients

  • 5 –7 small pieces of seer fish or 2 large pieces
  • ½ cup freshly grated coconut
  • 1 marble-sized ball of tamarind
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 4 dry red chilies byadgi/shepda
  • 5 black peppercorns
  • ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
  • ½ medium onion chopped
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • For marination:
  • 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
  • ½ tablespoon red chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Wash the fish and set aside. Mix turmeric powder, chili powder, and salt into a thick paste, adding water if needed. Apply to the fish and marinate for at least 30 minutes (refrigerate if longer).
  • Grind grated coconut with turmeric powder, tamarind, peppercorns, coriander seeds, and red chilies with ½ cup water into a semi-thin gravy.
  • Heat oil in a kadai and fry the chopped onion until pinkish.
  • Pour in the ground gravy and stir, adding ¼–½ cup water as needed.
  • Add the marinated fish and cook on medium flame for 10 minutes.

Video

Notes

The gravy should be neither too thick nor too thin.
No garlic is used in this traditional GSB-style version.