Coconut Fish Curry (Samaki Wa Nazi)
Simple and flavorful African Fish Curry Recipe with a delicious creamy coconut-based sauce. The fish is gently cooked in a curry coconut sauce that is bursting with exotic flavors.
This fish curry recipe is from the author of A Taste of Africa, Dorinda Hafner. Ms. Hafner tasted that the curry (pronounced sah-ma-kih wah nahzi) is famous amongst coastal dwellers of Tanzania and on Zanzibar, the “Island of Spices.” The recipe serves 4 people and is best served with rice or Fufu (foo-foo).
Most of the ingredients from the recipe can be found in your pandy, except for curry powder. Not everyone keeps curry powder in their spice cabinet or pantry. Curry powder is a blend of spices that gives a warm and robust flavor to many dished. On a side note, there are different types of curry powder. This recipe uses a simple blend of curry found on Amazon.com. It is not too spicy as the Indian type of curry containing Madras spice and not the same as the Jamaican curry powder.
That specific curry spice blend was selected for this recipe because Noubess Hot and Spicy Herbs Sauce replaced the fresh red chiles, a common ingredient in many African dishes. The result is a dish that is mouthwatering and exquisite.
What are the ingredients in the recipe?
The ingredients can easily be found in your local supermarket.
- Firm, white fish: not a type of fish. Popular white fish snapper, tilapia, cod, bass, grouper, haddock, and catfish. The red snapper was selected for this delicious curry dish.
- Salt: preferably add kosher, Himalayan, or sea salt.
- Vegetable oil: this oil was substituted with coconut oil for more flavor. You can also use olive oil. Vegetable oil is cheaper to buy but not the best oil to use for cooking.
- White onion: perfect for this recipe, but you can also use yellow onion or red onion.
- Garlic: use fresh as much as you can. Fresh garlic contains more flavor.
- Curry powder: See the previous paragraphs above. This spice blend is located in the spice aisle. There are tons of varieties. Choose a simple blend like the one previously suggested. Much curry spice can sometimes be hot and spicy. Be careful with your purchase.
- Tomato paste: regular tomato paste is fine. Unsalted or organic tomato paste is preferable.
- Fresh red chiles: this is an optional ingredient in the cookbook. Noubess hot and spicy sauce replaced the fresh chiles in my recipe.
- Lemon juice: a secret ingredient that is sure to elevate the taste of your food. It is a must-have fresh lemon.
- Coconut milk: this will help thicken the sauce. Don’t substitute this ingredient.
How to make Coconut Fish Curry
This recipe comes together in less than one hour, from cleaning the fish to cooking it in a delicious and creamy sauce.
Clean and rinse the fish, then season it with salt. Heat the oil in a medium pan, and brown the fish. Set it aside and keep warm. In the same oil, fry the onion until brown.
Add the garlic and then stir; cook for 1 minute, then add the curry powder, tomato paste: chiles, and lemon juice. Mix well and continue stirring to prevent the mixture from burning—Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the coconut milk and stir until it boils. Decrease the heat and add the fried fish. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the flavors concentrate and the sauce thickens to a creamy consistency. Serve hot.
Tips and Notes
- Always use a firm fish. Soft flesh fish will break into smaller pieces while frying.
- Use a good curry powder to add wholesome flavors to the sauce.
- Looking to add veggies to the dish? Add bell peppers, broccoli, asparagus, or spinach.
- Love peas? Add green peas, chickpeas, or snap peas
- Enjoy this recipe with rice or any other grains.
More fish recipes ideas for you to try
- EASY BAKED FISH WITH TURMERIC
- A QUICK WAY TO MAKE SPICY FISH
- EASY AND SIMPLE FRIED FISH
- POISSON GROS SEL OR COARSE SALT FISH
Here’s the recipe for Coconut Fish Curry (Samaki Wa Nazi), and don’t forget to let us know what you think.
Coconut Fish Curry (Samaki Wa Nazi)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds firm white-fleshed fish
- Salt to taste
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil or coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 large white onion chopped
- 2 Garlic cloves crushed
- 1 tbsp Curry powder
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 or 2 Fresh red chiles or Noubess hot and spicy sauce
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 2 cups Coconut milk
Instructions
- Clean and rinse the fish, then season it with salt. Heat the oil in a medium pan, and brown the fish. Set it aside and keep warm. In the same oil, fry onion until brown.
- Add the garlic and then stir; cook for 1 minute, then add the curry powder, tomato paste, chiles, and lemon juice. Mix well and continue stirring to prevent the mixture from burning. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk and stir until it boils. Decrease the heat and add the fried fish. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the flavors concentrate and the sauce thickens to a creamy consistency. Serve hot.
Notes
Use a good curry powder to add wholesome flavors to the sauce.
Looking to add veggies to the dish? Add bell peppers, broccoli, asparagus, or spinach.
Love peas? Add green peas, chickpeas, or snap peas
Enjoy this recipe with rice, or any other grains.
Nutrition
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Nutrition info is automatically generated and provided as a courtesy and as an estimate only.
After coming across this post by you I was really very excited to try out this recipe so I bookmarked this post so that when it’s a holiday I try. Finally, I made this recipe for my family and they enjoyed it a lot.
Glad you liked it. Thank you.