Flavors of Mumbai

Fish Ambotik Curry (step by step)

by 16 Comments

Fish Ambotik Curry recipe is a spicy and tangy curry. The word ambot means sour and tik means spicy. This dish goes well with appams, pao (bread), rice and sanas. Recipe inherited from my grandmom, to my mom and now to me 😉

Fish Ambotik Curry (step by step)

One has to be aquainted with the taste of ambotik to like them. I have eaten this since my childhood and prepare various types of ambotik home. Fishes which goes best with this recipes are shark, prawns, sardines, king fish, salmon, tongue fish (lep) and mackerels.

The spices and ingredients used for ambotik is more or less the same. The only difference is I have used teppal spice or tirphal spice also known as Sichuan Pepper. Sichuan pepper has a unique aroma and flavour that is not hot or pungent. So be careful while adding them to the curries. I have just added one teppal while making the curry paste and just two of them in the curry.

Mainly dry red kashmiri chilies are used in Goan cuisine which imparts the deep red orange color to the curries. In case you aren’t able to find them then just use dry bedgi chilies or kashmiri red chili powder.

There are some realities about food which is quite miraculous for instance a biryani would taste much better the next day. Even a stale chicken curry, fish curry, ambotik etc always tastes better the next day. That’s why most of people have curries with pav as breakfast the next day 🙂

Though Goa is small yet the food is diversified and has a lot of variations. You travel from North Goa to the South Goa the recipes would differ also some people add curry leaves, asofoetida (hing), fenugreek seeds and some don’t. So it’s upto you if you would like to add curry leaves or not as I have added them in the ambotik.

Fish Ambotik Curry Recipe

How to make fish ambotik curry recipe stepwise:

1. Grind all the ingredients for the paste until smooth. Add little water if required.

Fish Ambotik Curry Recipe

2. Take a vessel or pan add oil. Once oil is hot add chopped onion.

Fish Ambotik Curry Recipe

3. Also add curry leaves.

Fish Ambotik Curry Recipe

4. Saute the onion until light brown in color.

Fish Ambotik Curry Recipe

5. Time to add tomatoes. Saute until tender.

Fish Ambotik Curry Recipe

6. Add the grounded paste and mix well.

Fish Ambotik Curry Recipe

7. You could add water, vinegar and salt.

Fish Ambotik Curry Recipe

8. Also add the fish.

Fish Ambotik Curry Recipe

9. Cook until the curry thickens and the fish is cooked. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve the ambotik hot with pao, bread or steamed rice.

Fish Ambotik Curry Recipe

Fish Ambotik curry recipe card below:

Fish Ambotik Curry Recipe, How to make Goan Fish Ambotik Curry Recipe
Recipe Type: Main, Seafood
Cuisine: Goan, Indian
Author: Maria@flavorsofmumbai.com
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 3-4
Fish Ambotik Curry is a spicy and tangy curry. The word <g class=”gr_ gr_187 gr-alert gr_spell undefined ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace” id=”187″ data-gr-id=”187″>ambot</g> means sour and <g class=”gr_ gr_188 gr-alert gr_spell undefined ContextualSpelling” id=”188″ data-gr-id=”188″>tik</g> means spicy
Ingredients
  • [b]For the paste:[/b]
  • 4-5 dry red chilies
  • 1/2 onion (pyaz)
  • 1/2 inch ginger (adrak)
  • 4-5 garlic cloves (lehsun)
  • 1 small ball of seedless tamarind or 1 tbsp tamarind pulp (imli)
  • 8-10 peppercorns (kalimirch)
  • 1 to 2 teppal spice (optional)
  • a pinch of fenugreek seed (methi dana)
  • 1 tsp cumin seed (jeera)
  • [b]For the amboti:[/b]
  • 1/2 onion chopped finely
  • 1 tomato chopped length wise
  • 3-4 cleaned, diced fish (any fish like mackerel or sardines or shark)
  • 7-8 curry leaves (optional)
  • 1 tsp vinegar
  • salt as per taste
  • 2 tbsp water or as consistency required
Instructions
  1. Grind all the ingredients for the paste until smooth. Add water if required.
  2. Take a vessel or pan add oil. Once oil is hot add chopped onion.
  3. Also add curry leaves and saute the onion until light brown in color.
  4. Time to add tomatoes. Saute until tender.
  5. Add the grounded paste and mix well.
  6. You could add water, vinegar and salt.
  7. Also add the fish.
  8. Cook until the curry thickens and the fish is cooked. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve the ambotik hot with pao, bread or steamed rice.
Notes
1. You could use any fish like mackerels, prawns, squids, sardines,king-fish, salmon etc.[br]2. If dry red red kashmiri chilies arent available then use bedgi red chilies instead.[br]3. Instead of adding teppal spice to the ground paste you could add them to the curry instead.

Comments

  1. Hi,
    Surprisingly no turmeric is used in this dish. Normally the raw fish is marinated with turmeric and salt for at least half an hour before putting in the curry.

    Reply

  2. The red colour of this curry is very attractive.Every one want to eat it.u mention in ur recipe triphal .is that use alongwith the seed.That is not available in Bharuch.I am leaving in Bharuch.

    Reply

  3. it looks super spicy and tasty… i am going to try it.. special thanks for the end notes which helps a lot

    Reply

  6. Dear Maria,
    All of the goan recipes online, ONLY your recipes have proved to be genuinely goan to me, and have been of great great great help to me….
    Khup ani khup dev borem korum!
    XOXOXO

    Reply

  7. Dear Maria,
    I was just a week in Panjim and bought one big bag of konkan and two little bags of triphal. Both ingredients absolutely necessary for Goan fish curry people told me. Is the triphal what you call teppal? And where is the konkan in your recipe? Or is that for another fish curry?
    Thanks for your recipe!

    Reply

    • Yes triphal also known as teppal spice and also Sichuan pepper. I haven’t added kokam in this recipe but its there in other fish curries on the blog. Hope this help’s you 🙂

      Reply

  8. Hello, in all your fish recipes you have NOT shown the quantity of fish. please reply
    Thanks

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *