Goan Coconut Curry Paste Recipe

4.75 from 12 votes

Goan Coconut Curry Paste Recipe

The Goan coconut curry paste is a basic, essential paste used in every home in Goa. You can make Goan fish curry, prawn (shrimp) curry or other typical Goan red curry types with this.

Prep Time15

Total Time15

Course: Condiment

Cuisine: Goan, Indian

Servings: curry paste

Calories: 139kcal

Author: Helene Dsouza

Ingredients

3-5 Kashmiri Chili Pepper or similar dried
1 Coconut Raw Freshly Shredded *see Notes
1 Tablespoon Tamarind Paste optional
½ Onion large
1 Tablespoon Ginger + Garlic *see Notes
¼ Teaspoon Turmeric Ground
¼ Teaspoon Cumin Seeds Ground
1 Teaspoon Coriander Seeds Ground
¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground
1 Cup Water

US - Metric

Instructions

Remove the stems from the clean red chili. Place the whole red chili into the blender jar and add the shredded fresh coconut.
3-5 Kashmiri Chili Pepper, 1 Coconut Raw Freshly Shredded
Continue to add in the tamarind Paste (optional), peeled Onion half, Ginger Garlic and spices (ground turmeric, cumin, black pepper and coriander seed powder) Then add 1 cup of water too.
1 Tablespoon Tamarind Paste, ½ Onion, 1 Tablespoon Ginger + Garlic, ¼ Teaspoon Turmeric Ground, ¼ Teaspoon Cumin Seeds Ground, ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground, 1 Teaspoon Coriander Seeds Ground, 1 Cup Water
Close the lid and blend the paste. If the blending is getting too heavy, turn off the kitchen gadget, open the lid and add some more extra water. The paste should be as fine as possible in consistency.
You can use your curry paste straight away to make a curry, or freeze in a freezer-friendly container.

Video

Notes

Use a quality and powerful blender to prepare the paste.
You can store the paste in the freezer and use whenever you want to make a curry. It simplifies and helps in reducing time when preparing a Goan fish curry from scratch.
Makes about 1.1 pounds or ½ kilogram, which you can use for 1 curry. 1 Curry can be for 6–12 servings, depending on the quantity used and thickness of the curry.
For the coconut, get fresh coconut with the white part in it (not virgin tender coconut!). Most coconuts abroad come with the white flesh. Crack open the coconut and take out the white fruit flesh. Grind it fine in a food processor, and that's shredded coconut.
Use Ginger and garlic fresh (ratio 1:2) or use in paste form

Note, I slightly increased the spice quantity over the years for this recipe because most use ground spices and those are often not as flavorful as whole spices. Therefore, you will see

Nutrition