A festive Sri Lankan fish curry plate built on roasted onions, tamarind and a fiery curry powder, served with coconut rice.
This holiday plate takes its cue from Sri Lankan fish curry (malu ambul thiyal-style), a dish built around roasted curry powder, tamarind and the deep sweetness of slow-cooked onions. Roasting the curry powder in a dry pan before it touches oil is the step that separates a flat curry from one with real backbone — the spices turn a shade darker and release a toasty aroma that tamarind and coconut milk can't replicate on their own. Cod stands in well for the firmer white fish traditionally used, since it holds together through a slow simmer without falling apart. The onions are cooked past translucent into a soft, jammy state that dissolves into the sauce, giving the curry body without needing flour or cream. Curry leaves and a cinnamon stick go in with the tamarind water so the sauce layers sour, sweet and savory in the same spoonful. Served alongside coconut rice and a scatter of fresh cilantro, this plate is meant for a table with several other dishes — a dal, some greens, maybe a sambol — the way Sri Lankan holiday meals are typically built around variety rather than one central dish.
Serves 4
In a dry pot over medium-low heat, toast the curry powder and turmeric for 30-45 seconds until fragrant and a shade darker. Remove and set aside.
Watch closely — curry powder burns fast once it starts to darken.
Add coconut oil to the same pot. Cook onions over medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring often, until deeply soft and jammy.
Stir in garlic, ginger, cinnamon stick, curry leaves and green chiles. Cook 1 minute until fragrant, then stir the toasted curry powder back in.
Pour in tamarind water and bring to a simmer. Nestle in the cod, spoon sauce over the top, and simmer gently 10-12 minutes until the fish flakes easily.
Don't stir hard once the fish is in — shake the pot instead so the chunks stay whole.
Stir in coconut milk and salt, simmer 3-4 minutes without boiling hard, then taste and adjust salt or tamarind.
Spoon the curry over coconut rice, scatter with cilantro, and serve with a side sambol or dal for a full holiday spread.
Use Sri Lankan roasted curry powder, not Indian curry powder — it's pre-toasted and darker, giving a completely different, smokier flavor.
If your tamarind paste is thick and dark (not the sweetened bottled kind), start with half the amount and add more to taste.
Add the fish only once the sauce is fully simmering so it poaches gently instead of stewing to mush.
Swap cod for tuna or swordfish steaks for a firmer, meatier curry closer to traditional ambul thiyal.
Skip the coconut milk entirely for a sourer, drier ambul thiyal-style curry — traditional in southern Sri Lanka.
Add a handful of pearl onions left whole for texture alongside the sliced onions.
Refrigerate up to 2 days in an airtight container; the flavor deepens overnight. Reheat gently over low heat, adding a splash of water so the sauce doesn't break.
Sri Lankan fish curries built on roasted curry powder and tamarind are documented across the island's coastal communities, with ambul thiyal (a dry, intensely sour version using goraka fruit) originating in the south. This coconut-milk version is a more everyday household style found across home kitchens.
Yes — thaw it fully and pat it very dry first, otherwise the extra water will dilute the sauce and the fish is more likely to break apart.
Toast 2 tablespoons of regular curry powder with an extra pinch of ground coriander and cumin in a dry pan for a minute — it won't be identical but gets you close to the roasted depth.
The heat was too high. Bring it back together off heat with a whisk, or in future add coconut milk at the very end and only simmer gently, never at a rolling boil.
Per serving (420g / 14.8 oz) · 4 servings total
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