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    Home / Dinner / Fijian Fish Curry

    Fijian Fish Curry

    Fijian fish curry recipe with tender snapper simmered in a golden coconut cream sauce with ginger, garlic, and curry leaves — a comforting taste of the islands.

    ⏱ 15 minPrep time
    🔥 30 minCook time
    🍽 4Servings
    🏷 DinnerCategory
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    Fijian Fish Curry

    Fish curry is one of Fiji’s great cross-cultural dishes, born when Indian indentured laborers brought their spice boxes to the islands in the late 1800s and Fijian cooks added local fish and coconut cream. Today it is cooked in nearly every Fijian home, regardless of background, and no village feast or Sunday lunch feels complete without it.

    What makes it great: the curry is quick enough for a weeknight but tastes like it has simmered for hours. The coconut cream mellows the spices into a silky, gently sweet gravy that lets the fresh fish shine, and it is even better ladled over steamed rice and mopped up with soft roti.

    One of the great curry traditions — mapped in our World of Curries guide.

    Fiji recipes →

    Step by stepInstructions

    1. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat and saute the onion until soft and golden, about 5 minutes.
    2. Add the garlic, ginger, chilies, and curry leaves and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
    3. Stir in the curry powder, then add the tomatoes and cook until they break down into a thick paste, about 4 minutes.
    4. Pour in the coconut cream with 1/2 cup water, season with salt, and bring to a gentle simmer.
    5. Add the fish chunks and simmer uncovered for 8-10 minutes, spooning the sauce over the fish, until the fish is just cooked through.
    6. Stir in the lime juice, taste for salt, and serve hot over steamed rice.

    💡 Chef tips & storage

    Use a firm-fleshed fish so the chunks hold together in the simmering sauce. For extra depth, bloom the curry powder in the oil with the onions before adding any liquid.

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    Recipe details

    Prep15 min
    Cook30 min
    Servings4
    CategoryDinner
    PublishedAugust 17, 2026
    Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes

    Hi, I'm Emily 🧡

    Hi, I'm Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes. Simple, tested comfort food for real weeknights, written down the way grandma would. Pull up a chair. More about me →

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