This is “malu sudhata” in Sinhala, translates as “fish white” curry because most other fish preparations are more colorful due to the spices added. It has a lot of fresh mustard taste so I changed the traditional name to be more appropriate to its flavor.

In California I make this with all kinds of salmon (sockeye, coho, king) as well as sword fish, halibut or petrale sole. In Sri Lanka people use seer, paraw, suddha or most white-fleshed fish.

Curries always seem to have a huge list of ingredients that make it seem complicated – in the interests of simplicity I marked a whole bunch optional. The core flavors come from the garlic/onion and spices – the rest are nice to have.

Ingredients

3/4 lb sword fish, salmon, halibut or sole Any mild-flavored fish will work avoid red-color or bold-flavored-fish like tuna
1/2 tsp whole black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Sri Lankan curry powder (raw or un-roasted) Sri Lankan curry powder is simply a mix of 1/2 ground coriander and 1/2 ground cumin.
1/4 tsp chilli powder Double this for more heat
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 shallots or 1/4 onion
1/2 tsp salt or to your taste
1/2 tsp lime or lemon juice (optional)
1 sprig of curry leaves (optional)
1 small piece of cinnamon or 1/4 tsp powder (optional)
5 fenugreek seeds (optional)

Instructions

Use a mortar and pestle to grind the mustard to a powder and then smash the garlic in there as well to make a paste. Use a spice grinder if you don’t have a mortar/pestle.
Chop the shallots finely. Cut your fish into cubes, keep the skin on if you don't mind removing that later while eating.
Add all the ingredients except the fish, coconut milk, and lime juice into a flat pan with 2 cups water and let it simmer on medium heat 10 to 15 minutes till the water reduces by half.
Add the fish, coconut milk and simmer. Flip each piece of fish over after about 2 or 3 minutes so it cooks evenly.
When a piece of fish is no longer translucent in the middle it’s done. The longer the fish over-cooks the more leathery it's texture becomes. Take it off the heat, taste and adjust salt and sprinkle the lime juice.

Serve warm preferably with rice or flat bread.

Did you open a can of coconut milk for this curry? It’ll keep in the fridge for a few days but to store for much longer pour into an ice-cube tray, freeze; then store the cubes in labelled bags. 6 ice-cubes is 3/4 cup worth.

Mustard Fish Curry