Kerala fish curry without using coconut

Coconut is an inevitable part of Kerala kitchens. The cuisine wouldn't be complete with a hint of coconut flavour somewhere in it. So naturally, most of Kerala recipes have coconut as a crucial ingredient to it.

With the coconut prices going high, using them for any and every dish wouldn't be a feasible option. You can go for some cheaper and easier alternatives without affecting the taste and texture of the dishes. Here is a fish curry recipe which skipped out on coconut but without compromising the taste and consistency. It's a simple hack – just swap the grated coconut with some freshly sliced carrots. This curry is super easy to make and and the gravy would be as thick and rich as that of a traditional fish curry recipe.

Ingredients
4 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp ginger, crushed
3 tbsp garlic, crushed
10 shallots
3 green chillies
6 sprigs of curry leaves
5 carrots, sliced
Salt to taste
5 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
2 tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp fenugreek powder
5 pieces of tamarind or soaked kokum
Water
2 dried red chillies
1 kg fresh tuna fish cubes

Preparation
Heat coconut oil in a thick-bottomed pan or an earthen pot
Roast crushed ginger, garlic, shallots, green chilies and curry leaves in it
Add sliced carrot and roast them for 5 minutes
Add the chilli powder, turmeric powder and fenugreet
Roast until the raw smell of the spices leave
Turn off the stove and allow it to cool down
Grind the roasted ingredients along with room temperature water to a paste
Pour in some water to the pot that was used to roast the other ingredients
Add soaked kokum to it
Add some curry leaves to the pot
Add in the ground paste and bring it to a boil
Add the cubed tuna pieces to it
Cover with a lid and boil until the fish pieces are cooked
Cut each red chilles into three pieces and add them to the curry
You can also add pepper powder if you want to make the curry spicier
Serve hot along with rice, jackfruit or cassava