Chunky Monkfish Curry
This is a deliciously light Goan-style fish curry that uses desiccated coconut instead of coconut milk. The long, slow cooking tenderises the firm monkfish and softens and brings out the coconut flavour. You can swap monkfish for fillets of another firm fish but reduce the cooking time as I’ve suggested below.
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion
- 20 g chunk of fresh root ginger
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 long green chilli (deseeded if preferred)
- 20 g bunch of fresh coriander, plus extra to garnish
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp korma or any mild Indian curry paste (from a jar)
- 227 g can chopped tomatoes
- 50 g desiccated coconut
- 1 tsp flaked sea salt
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 250 ml cold water
- 1 red and 1 green pepper
- 500 g fresh skinless monkfish fillet
Instructions
- Cook on HIGH 3–4 hrs, plus 1hr / LOW 4–6 hours, plus 1hr on High. Peel and thinly slice the onion, peel and finely grate the ginger and peel and crush the garlic. Thinly slice the green chilli, and finely chop the coriander, including the stalks.
- Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the onion over a medium heat for 3–5 minutes, stirring frequently until softened and lightly browned. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a further minute, stirring. Stir the curry paste into the pan and fry for a few seconds, stirring continuously.
- Tip the spiced onions into the slow cooker and stir in the chopped tomatoes, coriander, coconut, chilli, salt, sugar and water. Cover with the lid and cook on HIGH for 3–4 hours or LOW for 4–6 hours, or until the spices have mellowed and the sauce has thickened.
- Deseed and cut the peppers into roughly 3cm chunks. Remove the slow cooker lid and stir the peppers into the curry sauce. Cut the fish into roughly 3cm chunky pieces and place on top. Cover again and cook for a further hour on HIGH, or until the fish is tender and thoroughly cooked. Serve with basmati rice.