A light, fresh and fragrant curry that is ready in just 20 minutes. Tender chunks of cod in a creamy tomato based sauce that is veggie packed and bursting with garlic, ginger and spices. This Cod Curry is much healthier than ordering a takeaway and something a little different for curry night.
We love a one pan dish, and this cod curry is one of our favourites. If you are looking for more ways to include fish in your diet, then this is an easy place to start, as it is so simple. A basic, but delicious, curry sauce and then the cod cooked on top for the last 10 minutes.
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Why should you try it?
- A delicious way to eat more fish
- Ready in just 20 minutes
- Cooked in one pan
- A healthier alternative to ordering a takeaway
- Easy to adapt
- Veggie packed
- Dairy free
What you will need
- Oil - We used olive oil for this recipe, but any will work.
- Onion - You can swap the medium brown onion for 4 small shallots, which will give the curry a sweeter flavour. You can also save yourself some time by using frozen chopped onion.
- Garlic and Ginger - For convenience, we used a garlic and ginger paste from a jar, but it is easy to make yourself. Just crush some garlic cloves and grate some fresh ginger.
- Curry powder - We have used 2 tablespoon of a hot curry powder. However, you could make your own spice blend. You can also use a mild curry powder if you don't want it too spicy. Make sure that your curry powder hasn't been opened too long, otherwise it won't have as much flavour.
- Cauliflower and Aubergine (eggplant) - This gives some chunky texture to the curry, as well as a vegetable boost. We have given some options below on how you can adapt it with different vegetables.
- Chopped tomatoes - This is the base of the curry sauce. Try to use the best quality tinned tomatoes that you can, as the cheap ones are really liquidy and it will make the sauce too thin and flavourless.
- Coconut Milk - We have used full fat, to add maximum flavour. However you could swap it to reduced fat to save yourself some calories.
- Cod fillets - We used fresh fillets, but you could use frozen and defrost them in the fridge overnight. When choosing cod in the shops, the flesh should be firm and it should appear moist. The colouring should be even and white, with no darkened areas.
- Lime - This adds some freshness to the dish, and fish and lime always go well together. You could use lemon instead.
- Coriander (cilantro) - A great way to finish off the dish and lighten it up even more.
Equipment needed
Chopping Board
Kitchen Knife
Large Frying Pan
Step by step
One: Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onions and aubergine. Cook until softened (about 2 minutes).
Two: Add the garlic and ginger paste and stir well.
Three: Stir in the curry powder and cook for a further minute.
Four: Add the cauliflower, tomatoes and coconut milk. Stir well so everything is combined and simmer for 8 minutes.
Five: Place the cod fillets on top of the sauce and cover the pan with a lid. Cook until the cod is cooked through, about 5-10 minutes.
Six: Squeeze over the lime juice and sprinkle with chopped coriander (cilantro).
Health benefits of cod
Cod is a great source of protein and it is also low in fat. If you are looking to add more fish to your diet, then this is an easy one to start with, as it doesn't have a really strong flavour and it is easy to cook.
Because it is low in fat, it's a great choice for those looking to reduce their fat intake and improve their heart health. Although cod doesn't have as much Omega-3s as fatty fish like salmon, it still has lots of nutritional benefits. For example, it is a good source of B vitamins, which are good for metabolising nutrients and releasing energy from food. Cod is also low in mercury, compared to other fish like tuna.
How to adapt this curry
Think of this as an easy curry base that you can adapt in lots of different ways. We love anything that we can add lots of different vegetables to, and this is exactly one of those recipes. You can give this cod curry a green veggie boost by stirring in some spinach a few minutes before serving. You could use kale or chard too.
When cooking the onion, you could add some finely diced bell pepper, mushrooms and courgette too. One of the great things about this curry is how quick it is to cook, so make sure you only use quick cooking vegetables that will all cook at the same rate. Peas are also a good addition to this curry.
If you didn't want to serve this curry with rice, then you could add some cubes of sweet potato or butternut squash directly to the curry to make it more filling. Par-boil it first and then add at the same time as the coconut milk.
What to serve it with
Curry goes perfectly with rice, which soaks up all that incredible creamy sauce. You could just go with plain basmati rice, or why not try our Turmeric Rice for something a little different? You could swap rice for quinoa for a protein boost.
Soft and fluffy bread is always a good option with curry too, so why not try making our Homemade Flatbreads - they are so simple. And then dip them in some of our homemade cucumber raita. If you want lots of flavour, then try our Peshwari Naan.
If you want a little more colour, then our Cucumber Tomato Salad or Carrot and Coriander Salad go well with a curry.
Frequently Asked Questions
We all love an indulgent Indian takeaway, however sometimes it can leave you feeling really sluggish from all the oil, butter and cream. That's why we try to make our own light versions at home as often as possible, and it saves us money too. Healthy is such a subjective work, but a few changes to the classic recipe certainly makes this lighter.
To start with, we have used just a little olive oil to cook the onion, garlic and ginger, however you could use an oil spray to use even less oil. We haven't added any butter or ghee, because although they do add some extra flavour, they add a lot of extra fat too. We find this curry it still delicious without it.
There are under 380 calories in this curry. That is just for the curry, without any side dishes. So if you are mindful of calories, then watch the side dishes, as they can really add up
This curry takes just 15 minutes to cook. Depending on how high a heat you are cooking on, you may need to cook it a bit longer to ensure that the cod is cooked all the way through.
We always like to use a food thermometer. The cooked temperature of cod is 58°C/136°F. However, if you don't have a food thermometer, then it is best to use your judgement and stick a knife in it. If it flakes easily, then it is cooked. If it doesn't then it will need a bit longer. Be careful not to overcook it, otherwise it will become tough.
If cod isn't for you, or you just fancy trying something a bit different, then you can swap it for prawns, haddock or salmon. Why not try our Salmon Curry recipe?
If you wanted to make a vegan version of this, then you could swap the cod for tofu, or just add extra vegetables.
This curry is full of spice flavour, but it isn't necessarily spicy hot. This particular recipe uses just some curry powder, which can add a good level of heat to the dish depending on which one you use. You can adjust the amount to your own taste.
If the dish is still too spicy once you have cooked it, you can cool it down by adding a teaspoon of palm sugar (or brown sugar) or by stirring through a tablespoon of plain yogurt.
Yes, you can swap the garlic, ginger and curry powder for curry paste instead. That way you can use a different curry paste each time to change the flavour. We like making a Thai version of this with Thai red curry paste.
This recipe is always best made fresh, as is anything with fish in our opinion. However, if you do have leftovers then they can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for 2 days.
Yes, once you have let the curry fully cool, you can transfer it in to a freezable container and then it will keep for 3 months.
Make sure to fully defrost the curry in the fridge overnight and then you can reheat the curry in a saucepan over a medium heat until piping hot all the way through. Stir the curry the curry carefully so that you don't break up the fish.
If you have problems with the consistency of the curry, then we have some tips for you. If it is too thick, then you can thin it out with some more coconut milk or stock. This has probably happened because it was cooked at too high a heat. If the sauce is too thin, then simmer it for a bit longer before you put the cod in.
Extra tips
- Once the cod has been added to the sauce, stir the sauce occasionally but very carefully as you don't want the fillets to break up in the sauce.
- Make sure you don't over-cook the cod, as it will become very tough.
- You can use light coconut milk instead of full fat in this cod curry, but you won't get the same creamy flavour.
- Add a little crunch to this curry by serving with some cashew nuts on top.
- This is a really mild curry, making it perfect for serving up to the whole family. However you you can always add a finely diced read chilli to the sauce, or just sprinkle some red chilli flakes.
- You can give this an extra protein boost by adding some quick cook lentils at the same time as the coconut milk.
- Make a vegetarian version of this by swapping the cod for chickpeas, halloumi/paneer or even just loads of vegetables. Make up a big pan of sauce and then swap the cod for a veggie alternative.
- An easy way to add a little extra flavour, texture and creaminess is by adding a spoonful of peanut butter (or almond or cashew).
- If you want a smooth sauce, then you could swap the tinned tomatoes for passata.
- You could cut the fish in to bite sized pieces, rather than adding whole fillets, if you prefer.
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Recipe
Cod Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 2 tablespoon garlic and ginger paste
- 2 tablespoon curry powder
- 100 g cauliflower chopped into small florets
- 0.5 aubergine (eggplant) diced
- 400 g chopped tomatoes canned
- 100 ml coconut milk
- 240 g cod fillets (about 120g/4oz per fillet)
- 0.5 lime juice only
- fresh coriander (cilantro) to serve
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onions and aubergine. Cook until softened (about 2 minutes).
- Add the garlic and ginger paste and stir well.
- Stir in the curry powder and cook for a further minute.
- Add the cauliflower, tomatoes and coconut milk. Stir well so everything is combined and simmer for 8 minutes.
- Place the cod fillets on top of the sauce and cover the pan with a lid. Cook until the cod is cooked through, about 5-10 minutes.
- Squeeze over the lime juice and sprinkle with chopped coriander (cilantro).
Notes
- Once the cod has been added to the sauce, stir the sauce occasionally but very carefully as you don't want the fillets to break up in the sauce.
- Make sure you don't over-cook the cod, as it will become very tough.
- You can use light coconut milk instead of full fat in this cod curry, but you won't get the same creamy flavour.
- Add a little crunch to this curry by serving with some cashew nuts on top.
- This is a really mild curry, making it perfect for serving up to the whole family. However you you can always add a finely diced read chilli to the sauce, or just sprinkle some red chilli flakes.
- You can give this an extra protein boost by adding some quick cook lentils at the same time as the coconut milk.
- Make a vegetarian version of this by swapping the cod for chickpeas, halloumi/paneer or even just loads of vegetables. Make up a big pan of sauce and then swap the cod for a veggie alternative.
- An easy way to add a little extra flavour, texture and creaminess is by adding a spoonful of peanut butter (or almond or cashew).
- If you want a smooth sauce, then you could swap the tinned tomatoes for passata.
- You could cut the fish in to bite sized pieces, rather than adding whole fillets, if you prefer.
Gavin Sutherland
I've never used fish in curry much before (other than prawns) - this was inspiring and tasted amazing!
Lauren Michael Harris
Cod and curry - two of my favorite foods! I can't believe that I never thought to put the two together before - so good!
Michelle
My kids love cod, and so happen to like curry so I can't waIt to try out this recipe! Looks so flavourful :)
Amanda
Such a delicious curry recipe! The cod made it perfectly light for the summer, and that creamy broth was loaded with flavor.
Beth
What a lovely dish! I never though of making curry with cod before and it looks so delicious! Excited to try this recipe soon!
Claudia Lamascolo
This made the cod taste so delicious I was shocked on how well it complimented this mild fish flavor
Marlynn
This is such a flavorful dish, and I love that it can be made in just one pan! We enjoyed it with flatbread.
Sara Welch
What a unique and unexpected dish! Served this for dinner last night and the whole family loved it!