If you love Goan food, then Paplet Hooman/Pompano Curry is a must to try out. Goes well with hot and steamy rice.

Being a Goan and a hardcore fish eater, I always am happy when I cook my traditional styled fish curry. My grandpa taught me how to make fish curry when I was in my teens. His was a authentic Goan style curry. My father in law is from Karwar and my mother in law is from Goa. But her fish curry has Karwar touch. So, after I got married, I learnt the Karwar style fish curry.

Pomfret( we call it paplet in Goa) is one of my favorite fish.  Though Indian pomfret is difficult to get here in USA , I prepare  same Goan Karwar style paplet curry(We call it Hooman in Goa) with any kind of fish we get here , except for prawns and mackerels. Pompano fish is bit closer to pomfret , so whenever we crave for Goan pomfrets, we buy those and you get variety of pompano fish here.

Seafood recipes(Mostly Indian) are the most preferred menu items in my daily lunch/dinner. Rather then fish fillets, we get whole fish, cut into steaks and either fry them or make curry. Last week , we got a different kind of pompano , and the taste was almost similar to Goan pomfret.  So, we had a big feast on it.  Though I prepare this curry very often, never thought of writing on it on my blog. So, my son suggested, why don’t you publish this recipe. So, here is my Goan Karwar style pompano curry. 

Preparation time: 20 Minutes

Cooking Time: 20  Minutes

Serves : 3 

Ingredients: 

• 6-8 Cut Pieces(steaks) of Paplet fish/Pompano(Can substitute with any fish except shellfish and mackerels)
• 1/2 Cup finely chopped onion
• 2 Teaspoons Coconut oil
• Salt to taste

For Paste: 

• 3/4 Cup freshly grated coconut
• 6-7 Dry red chilies preferably byadgi
• 1 Teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1 Teaspoon Coriander seeds
• 3 Black pepper corns
• 1 Small ball of tamarind

Method:

Wash pompano pieces well with water 3-4 times and add some salt . Mix and keep it aside for about 15-20 minutes.
Grind together, ingredients mentioned for paste using 1 cup water, to fine paste.

In a medium saucepan kept on medium high heat, add coconut oil and fry onions till they are nicely darkened. My mother in law says, this step is important , to get nice flavor to your gravy. You can substitute with olive oil or any oil , but try to use coconut oil for lovely aroma.

>Pour in the prepared coconut paste in blackened onions, and also add slit chilies. Add some water to make it little runny. We prefer little thicker curry rather than runny.

Let it come to complete boil and add pompano pieces. Mix gently . Cover and cook on medium heat for about 6-7 minutes.

Remove cover and add salt. Gently mix and simmer on low heat for 5 more minutes. Check the fish if cooked properly using toothpick. They should feel soft. 

Do not overcook , otherwise, fish pieces will break and release bones in the curry.

Remove from heat and serve with rice.

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