Make your own Basa Fish Curry from scratch at home, chunks of Basa fish marinated in yoghurt, garlic, chilli, turmeric & ginger.
Then hob cooked in a homemade coconut curry paste. Any white fish, such as Cod, Haddock or Tilapia can be used instead.
Medium spiced Fish Curry recipe has all the great flavours of an Indian Takeaway, however, it has surprisingly low calories & is low fat.
Perfect for both a midweek meal or a weekend fakeaway!
How to make a Basa Fish Curry?
📖 Step by Step Recipe
Basa Fish Curry
Equipment
Ingredients
Basa Fish Marinade
- 500 Grams (1lb) Basa Fish - or prefered firm white fish chopped into large bite-sized peices
- 60 Grams (¼ cup) Natural Yogurt
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Puree - 2 garlic cloves crushed
- ¼ teaspoon Tumeric
- 1 teaspoon Chilli Puree - 1 chilli pepper chopped finely or minced
- ½ teaspoon Ground Ginger
- Salt - As required
Curry Paste
- 2 tablespoon Olive oil
- 2 Onions - chopped
- ½ tin Chopped Tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon Desiccated Coconut
- 1 teaspoon Chilli Puree - 1 chilli pepper chopped finely
- 1 tablespoon Sundried Tomato Puree - substitute for regular tomato puree
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Puree - 2 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoon Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Garam Masala - or Curry Powder
- 250 ml (1 cup) Water
- 3 Curry Leaves - or bay leaf
Instructions
Marinate fish
- Place all marinade ingredients in a large bowl with the fish and stir together placing to one side.
Create Curry Paste
- Place 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan, fry the onions for 5 mins on medium heat until soft. Add the tin tomatoes for a further 3 mins.
- Remove from pan & place into a large jug adding the desiccated coconut and 1tbsp of water, blend to make a smooth paste, place to one side.
Fish curry
- In the same pan add oil & fry the marinated fish on both sides for 3 mins (6 mins in total) remove from one side leaving the juice in the pan.
- Add the garlic, chilli and sundried tomato puree to the pan with the garam masala and curry leaves, stir together, next add the curry paste we created earlier.
- Finally add 250 ml water and 2 teaspoon sugar and bring to the boil
- Turn heat to medium-low and add back the fish. Simmer for 3- 4 mins until warmed through.
- Sprinkle fresh coriander over the top, and serve with rice.
Video
Nutrition
This post was updated on 07/03/2025, with the recipe card being placed higher on the page for a better user experience.
More info is written on this blog post should you want any extra help?
What fish is suitable for curry?
We use Basa fish as it is a cheap, firm white fish which absorbs the curry flavours well.
If you can't source Basa then opt for Cod or Haddock which are slightly more expensive but also absorb the curry flavouring well.
What to use as a fish marinade?
Create a simple marinade for fish using Garlic Puree, Chilli Puree, Yoghurt, Ginger and Tumeric.
You can crush and mince your own garlic and chillies if preferred?
How long to marinate fish for curry?
Fish does not need to be marinated for long periods of time like meat does. Which makes it perfect when you want a curry in a rush!
Simply create the marinade as your first step and leave it to seep in the flavours, whilst you create the curry paste.
How to create a homemade curry paste?
Create a homemade smooth coconut curry paste, made from simple ingredients.
Fry onions until golden, add chopped tomatoes and cook until softened.
Remove from pan and blend together with desiccated coconut to form a smooth curry paste for later. We use a stick blender to do this.
Add marinated fish to the pan and cook for 6 minutes (3 minutes each side) remove from pan until later.
Keep the juice from the cooked fish in the pan and add Garlic, Chilli & Sundried Tomato Puree, Curry Leaves & Garam Masala.
Add in the curry paste, created earlier, stir all together and finally add the water and sugar. Bring to the boil turn heat to medium and add the fish back to the pan for about 4 minutes
Scatter with coriander once finished cooking and you're ready to serve up.
What to serve with fish curry?
We served our Basa Fish Curry with Coconut Pilau Rice, onion bhaji's, samosas & poppadoms.
We also have onion rice recipe or just plain basmati rice you may like instead?
The fish soaks up the curry flavours perfectly a great dish for any occasion.
Gia Puree Products
A few cheat products used to help speed up prep time, all available from UK supermarkets!
- Gia Garlic Puree - Garlic ready crushed to put into your recipe, 1tsp is equal to 2 garlic cloves. No more stinky fingers, we use it in most recipes that call for crushed garlic!
- Gia Chilli Puree- Chilli peppers ready crushed to add a quick kick to any dish. 1 teaspoon is equal to 1 chilli pepper. No need to chop your own anymore, have you ever rubbed your eyes after chopping Chillies?? It stings, doesn't it! Well, fear no more with this product! Great for Curry dishes!
- Gia Sundried Tomato Puree – Add the richness of sundried tomatoes to any recipe. Blended with oils and herbs, the secret ingredient to any good meal. We often use in place of regular Tomato puree, to add extra richness. You will only need half the amount of this compared to regular puree!
Click here to see more information about the Gia Range of products. We created this recipe for Gia using their products.
We highly recommend them but also give you other options of how to make without them in the recipe card.
Can I freeze Fish curry?
Yes, it can be stored in an airtight container until it is cool enough to put in the freezer. It will keep for 3 months in the freezer.
Defrost fully before warming up in the microwave. The fish may break up more than when it is freshly made!
More Curry Recipes
If you liked this Basa Fish Curry, check some of our other curry recipes. We have chicken balti, pathia or bhuna, prawn masala or a chicken tikka starter.
When you make our recipes please leave us a comment, to let us know how you got on?
Dr Lisa Fagg says
I cook a lot and I cook a lot of Indian food. This recipe is, by far, one of the best I have cooked from the internet. I was just searching for something to cook with a couple of Basa fillets that I was trying for the first time. Your recipe is so well-written and so easy to follow (I have to admit I had to substitute the chilli products you were showcasing as I didn't have these to hand!). Because I love green chillis, I snuck a cheeky couple in, chopped up, towards the end. Above all, though, this dish just tastes AMAZING! My husband and I couldn't believe how good it was. We'll definitely be having this again... with Basa -- the fish seems perfect for this dish.
Thank you, so much!
Kay says
Thank you so much for that great comment, so glad you enjoyed the basa fish curry. Using fresh chillies /garlic instead of the chilli or garlic puree still gives it an authentic taste.
When we see messages like this, it makes all the hard work really worthwhile.
Jess says
I love how packed full of flavor this dish is!
Kay says
Hi Jess
Your right, this curry is full of great flavours, enjoy 🙂
Journa says
Love this curry recipe! Especially love your homemade curry recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Kay says
Hi Journa
So glad you like our homemade curry recipe
Hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do 🙂
Pam says
This sounds so good! I'm always looking for new fish recipes.
Kay says
Thanks, Pam
Hope you enjoy this recipe, let us know how it goes?
Beth Sachs says
Such a tasty curry, the whole family loved it! I added a handful of peas in at the end.
Kay says
So glad the family loved the fish curry, Beth 🙂
Sounds good with added peas, enjoy!!
Michelle says
Easy peasy & delish! I kicked it up with extra chilli but that’s because I like it.
Luke says
Hi Michelle
Thanks for the comment and rating, so glad you liked our basa fish curry recipe 🙂
We have another curry coming out soon, keep an eye out
Enjoy!!
Tony Fleming says
I was very pleased with how this curry turned out with the Basa I used. It was easy to follow and has a good combination of flavours. I now have it in my recipe folder for future use ! Thanks
Luke says
Hi Tony
Thank you so much for the comment and rating it's much appreciated 🙂
Glad you like the curry recipe, we have a new curry recipe coming out soon for you to try, Enjoy !!
Alba says
I've never made curry before so I was a bit unsure of myself, but this recipe was super easy to follow and turned out very delicious. Thank you!
Luke says
Hi Alba
Thank you for your comment, so glad you liked the basa fish curry, we love this recipe!!
Keep an eye out for our other curries coming soon they are lush:)
Isadora says
Tasted amazing and the balance of spices was prefect!
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Rachelle says
Amazing all of the family loved this
Sharron says
Made this tonight, I’ve never left a comment on a recipe before however this one was so delicious and so quick to make! Will definitely be adding this to my repertoire. Thanks!!!! X
Margarita Evangelou says
Hi, looks delicious. Can you please let me know for how many servings does the nutritional info equate? X
David Brown says
It looks so delicious, thanks for share.David Brown famous for delicious smoker recipes, expert cooking methods, cooking tips, and tricks as well as for his cooking recipes
Karen says
I haven't made fish curry in a long time - thanks for the inspiration!
Kay says
My pleasure, we actually just made another fish curry tonight, we will be posting that in a couple of weeks time.
Amanda says
What veggies could I add top this and when would I add them?
Kay says
Cauliflower peas or spinach work well with this dish. Cook peas/cauliflower off and add them in at the end. Or add spinach leaves, right at the end and cook until wilted.