Fish Sothi — Sri Lankan Yellow Fish Curry

On the opposite end of the spectrum from fiery red curries, sothi is Sri Lanka’s great comfort dish — a very mild, soothing, coconut-milk-based curry spiced lightly with turmeric and fenugreek and lifted with lime juice at the end. It is the dish to make when you want the fish itself to shine. Firm white fish holds best: king fish, silver pomfret or barramundi from our counter.

Ingredients

• 500g firm fish steaks or fillets
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 2 green chillies, slit
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 400ml coconut milk (thin and thick separated if possible)
• Juice of ½–1 lime
• Salt, to taste

Method

1. Build the broth. Put onion, chillies, garlic, curry leaves, fenugreek, turmeric and the thin coconut milk in a pan. Simmer gently for 10 minutes.
2. Poach the fish. Slide in the fish and cook at a bare simmer for 6–8 minutes — never a rolling boil.
3. Enrich. Add the thick coconut milk and warm through without boiling.
4. Finish with lime. Off the heat, stir in lime juice and salt to taste.
5. Serve with string hoppers, plain rice or crusty bread.

Fishmonger’s tip: steaks cut on the bone stay juicier in a sothi — ask us for curry-cut steaks.