Malabar Fish Curry

I wanted to make a fish curry for some time. After the other curries I have done in the last couple of  months, a fish curry it should be. Eating fish was on the top of the list to eat this week anyway.

I went through my cook books and many recipes on line and on YT and Malabar or Kerala fish curry came up often. So many different versions of a recipe does not make it a lot easier to choose one, so I took inspiration from all of them and made my own. The base is mostly identical in all the recipes.
It may not be authentic but it tastes great.

recipe:
1 tsp curcuma powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp chili powder
6 curry leaves dried
heat it up in a dry pan until it smells intense without burning it. Get it out of the pan.

3 tbsp Ghee or clarified butter
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp nigella seeds
3 shallots
5 cloves of garlic
5 cm fresh ginger
use a small kitchen machine or a pestel and mortar and make a paste from shallots, garlic and ginger
Heat up the Ghee and get the seeds in and let them pop. Add the paste and fry for 3 minutes.

add
2 red onions in half rings
3-6  green and yellow chilis
3 tomatoes or 6 small ones diced
1 tbsp tomato paste
250 ml water

bring back to a simmer and add the dry roasted spices.
200 ml coconut milk
salt and pepper
1 1/2 tsp tamarinde paste loosend in a bit of water
1 tbsp palm sugar

300 g wolffish
300 g Nile perch
200 g baby spinach
3 whole coriander with roots and leaves

cut the fish into 5 cm pieces and put them into the sauce, let them cook 5 minutes and then get all the spinach on top, close a lid and let it wilt down. Then stir it into the sauce.

Serve with Basmati rice of Indian bread and fresh coriander.