Sri Lankan fish curry is cooked in creamy coconut milk.
You’ll love this easy fish curry recipe for its simplicity and taste.
The white fish curry is non-spicy, thick, creamy and makes a delicious pairing for your rice, bread, stringhopper or pittu.

cremay coconut milk fish curry served in a black bowl

Thalapath fish curry.

If you make curries, you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry to make this Thalapath(sailfish)curry.
Thalalpath fish curry, also known as “Malu Kirata” in Sinhalese, is packed with flavour and enhanced with the richness of coconut milk, giving the fish gravy its thick, creamy sauce like gravy.
It’s healthy proteins with very little fat, and it still tastes good.
The perfect curry to serve even to the hardcore fish haters(I should know, as I have a few in my family).

scooping a chunk of fish with a silver spoon from a creamy fish curry

Meal ideas for the Sri Lankan fish curry.

For breakfast.
- Serve with String Hoppers and a spicy Pol Sambol/Coconut Sambol.
- Serve with coconut roti and seeni sambol.
- The mild fish curry pairs well with freshly baked Bread or Hoppers and Seeni Sambol (caramelised onions with a sweet and spicy mix).
- Serve with kiribath(milk rice) and a spicy lunumiris sambol.
Rice dishes to pair with mild Sri Lankan fish curry.

vegetarian curries.

Salads & sambols for Thalapath fish curry.

creamy coconut milk fish curry with cinnamon and spices

Tips and questions for the Creamy fish curry.

Tips.
- Types of fish you can use to make the seafood curry.
  - Any Fish that is firm in texture like Yellowfin tuna, seer fish or Spanish mackerel can be substituted with thalapath(sailfish).
  - You can cook the fish with the skin or without the skin.

Questions.
- How many people can you serve this mildly spiced white fish curry?
  - This recipe will roughly feed 4 people and stretch to include 5 if there are kids as well.
  - For 2-3 people reduce the amount of fish to 500g, garlic 1 tablespoon and depending on how much creamy gravy you want to cut it down to half.

chunks of tender fish cooked in a mild creamy coconut gravy

What you will need in the kitchen.

Chopping board and knife.
A medium-sized deep pan to cook the fish and a spoon.
Serving bowl and spoon.

More fish curry recipes.

Sri Lankan red chilli fish curry.
How to make canned fish curry.
Sri Lankan canned fish stir-fry.
Sri Lankan sour fish curry(ambulthiyal)

Storage, freezing and reheating guide.

Storing.
- Once the fish curry is completely cool, refrigerate the curry and use it within 2-3 days.
- Because you are using coconut milk, I would advise you to consume the curry within 2 days.
- The more you leave it in the fridge the more the texture and taste of the fish curry reduces.
Freezing the coconut curry.
- Once cooled, you can freeze it for 3 days but please keep in mind that the taste and texture will change.
Reheating.
- Leave the fish curry to reach room temperature, transfer to a pan and gradually heat the dish.
- I would advise not to use the microwave to reheat the curry as I find it becomes too dry and leaves the microwave smelling of fish.
Stop food waste.
- The fish can also be cooked down to make a leftover curry(use my recipe for leftover curries recipe)and simply eaten with a few slices of bread.

creamy coconut milk fish curry with green chillies.

RECIPE DIFFICULTY-EASY

Ingredients for Sri Lankan creamy coconut fish curry.

Fish steaks of sailfish cut into large chunks(thalapath, for substitute fish, refer to above notes).
Oil
Curry leaves
Minced garlic
Onion finely sliced
Fenugreek seeds
Tomato chopped
Turmeric powder
Red chilli powder
Green chillies
Cinnamon
Thin coconut milk(1/4 cup of thick coconut milk diluted in 1/2 a cup of water).
Thick coconut milk(reduce to 1/2 a cup if you want less gravy).
Salt to taste

Step-by-step photo tutorial.

How to cook creamy coconut fish curry.

Reduce heat to low, cook for 3 minutes, breaking down the tomatoes.

chunks of tender fish washed and ready to be cooked in fish curry.

Washing the fish.

Place the fish chunks in a large, wide bowl, add 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder, fill the bowl with water and rinse the fish quickly.
Do not soak the fish longer but rinse twice and completely drain any excess water.

chunks of sailfish with turmeric to rinse and wash

rinsing the sailfish chunks with turmeric and water

Cooking the fish curry.

Place a pan over the low-medium fire and pour in the oil.
Once the oil heats, add the curry leaves, minced garlic, onions, and the fenugreek.
Saute the ingredients until the onions turn soft for about 3-5 minutes over low heat.
Avoid burning the fenugreek seeds; if the fenugreek seeds burn, they’ll add bitterness to the fish curry.

Add the chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, and the green chillies, cinnamon piece.

frying onions,garlic, curry leaves to make the fish curry

cooking tomatoes, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and green chilli to make the fish curry

Reduce heat to low, cook for 3 minutes, breaking down the tomatoes.

cooked onions. curry leaves, tomato in oil to make the creamy fish curry

Pour in the thin coconut milk(To make thin milk, simply mix 1/4 cup thick milk with 1/2 cup of water).

adding coconut milk to the tempered ingredients to make the fish curry.

Stir and slow-simmer over low fire for 8-10 minutes, season with salt. Gently add the sailfish chunks to the thin coconut milk and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.

adding sailfish chunks into the coconut milk.

Add the thick coconut milk (1/2-1 cup as per your preference)to the fish curry. taste and season with salt.

adding coconut milk to the cooked chunks of fish cubes.

Slow simmer for another 3-5 minutes or until you have a thick creamy coconut milk fish curry.

chunks of fish cooked in thick coconut milk.

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coconut milk white fish curry(Sri Lankan).

Name: coconut milk white fish curry(Sri Lankan).
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Sri Lankan
Ingredients: Ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.; 700g of fish steaks of Thalapath cut into large chunks; 3 tablespoons of oil; A sprig of curry leaves; 2 tablespoon of minced garlic(about 3 cloves of garlic); 1 large onion sliced fine; 1 teaspoon of fenugreek; 1 large tomato chopped; 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder; 1/2 teaspoon of chilli powder; 2 green chillies; 2″ piece of Cinnamon; 1/2 cup of thin coconut milk; 1 cup of coconut milk(reduce to 1/2 a cup if you want less gravy); Salt to taste

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Sri Lankan fish curry is made with creamy coconut milk.

You'll love this easy fish curry for its simplicity and taste.

Also known as “Thalapath Malu Kirata”, it’s packed with flavour and enhanced with the richness of coconut milk, giving the fish gravy its thick creamy taste.

Ingredients

Ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.
700g of fish steaks of Thalapath cut into large chunks
3 tablespoons of oil
A sprig of curry leaves
2 tablespoon of minced garlic(about 3 cloves of garlic)
1 large onion sliced fine
1 teaspoon of fenugreek
1 large tomato chopped
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon of chilli powder
2 green chillies
2″ piece of Cinnamon
1/2 cup of thin coconut milk
1 cup of coconut milk(reduce to 1/2 a cup if you want less gravy)
Salt to taste

Instructions

Make sure you cut the fish into fairly big chunks.

How to wash the fish chunks for the curry.

Place the fish chunks in a large wide bowl, add 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder, fill the bowl with water and rinse the fish quickly.

Do not soak the fish longer but rinse twice and completely drain any excess water.

How to cook the fish curry.

Place a pan over the low-medium fire and pour in the oil(3 tbsp)

Once the oil heats, add the curry leaves(1 sprig), minced garlic (2 tbsp), onions(1 finely sliced), and the fenugreek(1 tsp).

Saute the ingredients until the onions turn soft for about 3-5 minutes over low heat, avoid burning the fenugreek seeds, if the fenugreek seeds burn they’ll add bitterness to the fish curry.

Add the tomatoes (1 large, chopped), turmeric(1/2 tsp), chili powder (1/2 tsp), and the green chilies (2), cinnamon piece(2″).

Reduce heat to low, cook for 3 minutes breaking down the tomatoes.

Pour in the thin coconut milk(1/2 cup, to make thin milk simply mix 1/4 cup thick milk with 1/2 cup of water).
Stir and slow simmer over low fire for 8-10 minutes, season with salt.

Gently add the sailfish chunks into the thin coconut milk and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the thick coconut milk (1/2-1 cup as per your preference)to the fish curry. taste and season with salt.
Slow simmer for another 3-5 minutes or until you have a thick creamy coconut milk fish curry.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 650Total Fat: 40gSaturated Fat: 22gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 153mgSodium: 292mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 64g

Nutritional information on islandsmile is provided as a courtesy. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on the site. these figures should only be considered as estimates.

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