Instant Pot Fish Curry is inspired by a popular fish curry that’s traditional in the Southern part of India. This mild coconut milk-based curry with a tinge of tartness is so quick and easy to make. Kick up the heat by adding more jalapeno or serrano chilies. Serve over rice.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Since I use the Instant Pot as much as I do, I find myself cooking a lot of meat and chicken dishes. But every so often I get a hankering for fish!
I always keep a bag of Costco wild-caught Pacific cod in my freezer so I can make something quick and easy like fish tacos or this Instant Pot Fish Curry. You may think that the Instant Pot would overcook fish, but I’ve not found that to be the case.
My recipe for Instant Pot Fish Curry is based on a traditional and popular fish curry called Fish Molee or Meen Molee (pronounced ‘Moe-lee’) from the state of Kerala, in the southern part of India, where my family is from.
I adapted the recipe from my stovetop version of Fish Molee Curry. It’s a fairly easy recipe to make on the stovetop, so that’s also an option.
This fish curry, like many South Indian recipes, has a coconut milk gravy. If you’re familiar with Indian curries, you may notice that this recipe is different: it’s a fairly mild dish, with some very simple ingredients. Some recipes for Fish Molee don’t even have coriander and cumin. Any spiciness in the curry comes from the green chilies.
If you’re looking for an easy and delicious Instant Pot fish recipe, this fish curry is one worth trying out!
Here are some Instant Pot Indian recipes you might like to try out!
– Instant Pot Chicken Curry Soup
– Instant Pot Cashew Butter Chicken
– Instant Pot Aloo Gobi (Cauliflower)
– Instant Pot Chicken Curry Soup
– Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
– Instant Pot Coconut Beef Curry
TIPS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
FISH
I use a firm, fleshy fish like cod, salmon or haddock. The fish pieces I use are usually an inch or more in thickness.
If you’re using a thinner or flakier fish fillet like tilapia, it’s possible you could overcook the fish in the Instant Pot. Either reduce cooking time or pressure cook the fish at low pressure for 5 minutes. Be very careful when removing the fish not to let it break apart.
When I forget to thaw the fish, I cut the frozen fish into pieces and follow the same recipe without changing cooking time. If it needs to be cooked further, use the Saute function for a couple of minutes. Works great!
ONIONS
Most recipes call for sliced onions. My family prefers the onions to be diced. Feel free to use sliced onions.
CURRY LEAVES
If you are able to find fresh curry leaves, add about 10 leaves to the coconut oil first, before sauteing the onions.
You should be able to find curry leaves at Indian grocery stores or online.) And no, lime leaves, bay leaves, basil leaves are not even close – just omit curry leaves if you can’t get hold of them.
Note: Curry leaves have no relationship to curry powder! If you’ve never used curry leaves, you really should try them out; the aroma and flavor are heavenly!
SPICES
My original recipe for Fish Molee Curry calls for a cinnamon stick, whole cloves, and cardamom pods. I’ve left them out in this version, but you can definitely include them: first saute a cinnamon stick, 4 whole cloves, and 4 cardamom pods. And then add onions.
I find that serrano green chilies have a more consistent heat level than jalapenos do. i.e. while one jalapeno pepper can be very spicy, another can be pretty mild. So I like to use serrano chili peppers in my cooking.
You can slice the green chili pieces in half lengthwise and that makes it easier to identify and remove them if you need to, before serving.
If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, please read the Instant Pot DUO Beginner’s Quick Start Guide, Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Quick Start Guide, or Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus Beginner’s Quick Start Guide first and then come back here to learn how to make this recipe.
Instant Pot Fish Curry – Ingredients
- Fish
- Onion
- Tomato
- Coconut milk
- Black pepper
- Coriander
- Turmeric
- Coconut oil
- Cumin
- Lime juice
- Salt
- Green chili
- Garlic
- Ginger
How to Make Fish Curry in the Instant Pot (Step by Step Instructions)
- Turn on Saute Mode
- Saute onions
- Saute tomatoes
- Saute spices
- Add coconut milk and fish
- Pressure cook
- Quick-release pressure
- Stir in lime and cilantro
Turn on ‘Saute’ Mode
- Instant Pot DUO: Select the Saute function.
- Instant Pot ULTRA: Select the Saute function and press Start.
Saute Onions
- Add coconut oil to the pre-heated inner pot of Instant Pot and allow it to heat up.
- Add onions, garlic, ginger and green chilies to the inner pot.
- To guard against splatter, use a splatter screen.
Saute Tomatoes
- Stir onion mixture until onions are translucent.
- Add tomatoes and saute until the tomatoes release their liquid and start breaking down.
Saute Spices
- Add in the coriander, cumin, turmeric, black pepper, and salt.
- Saute until spices are fragrant, about 30 seconds. Be careful not to burn! Press Cancel at any time if you find it’s overheating. Turn back on once cooled down a bit.
- Deglaze with a tablespoon or two of water.
Add Coconut Milk and Fish
- Stir in coconut milk.
- Carefully add in fish pieces.
- Gently lift up and move the fish pieces around so that the coconut milk reaches the floor of the inner pot and the fish is coated with the liquid.
Instant Pot Duo Pressure Cook 2 minutes
- Close the lid and make sure steam release handle is in ‘Sealing’ position
- Press ‘Manual’ (or ‘Pressure Cook’) and ‘+’ or ‘-‘ until the display reads ‘2′ (2 minutes).
Instant Pot Ultra Pressure Cook 2 minutes
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and adjust the time to 2 minutes (00:02).
- Press ‘Start’.
Pressure Cooking Process (Duo and Ultra)
- Instant Pot display will change to ‘On’.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down to 0; it will then switch to ‘Keep Warm’ mode and display ‘L0:00’ or ’00 00′ and begin to count up the number of minutes since pressure cooking completed.
How to Quick Release Pressure (QR) on the DUO
- Move the steam release handle to Venting. Steam will come out of the steam release handle.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.
How to Quick Release Pressure (QR) on the ULTRA
- Press down on the Steam Release Button until it locks into place, and steam begins to come out of the Steam Release Valve.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.
Stir in Lime and Cilantro
- Add lime juice to the fish curry.
- Gently stir the curry without breaking up the fish.
- Carefully remove fish and gravy into a serving bowl. Garnish Instant Pot fish curry with cilantro and sliced tomatoes, if desired. Serve over rice.
Instant Pot Fish Curry | South Indian Fish Molee
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil
- 10 curry leaves optional
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 1 Tbsp garlic
- 1 Tbsp ginger
- 1/2 serrano or jalapeno chili pepper sliced or slit (use 1 whole chili for spicy)
- 1 cup tomato chopped
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp water for deglazing
- 1 cup coconut milk about 1/2 of 14 oz. can
- 1 1/2 lbs fish fillets e.g. firm fish like cod or haddock, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 tsp lime juice
- Fresh cilantro leaves for garnish optional
- Fresh tomato slices for garnish optional
Equipment
Instructions
- Select the 'Saute' function and pre-heat the Instant Pot.
- Add coconut oil to the pre-heated inner pot of Instant Pot and allow it to heat up.
- Add curry leaves (if using) and stir for about 20 seconds.
- Add onions, garlic, ginger and green chilies to the inner pot.
- Stir onion mixture until onions are translucent.
- Add tomatoes and saute until the tomatoes release their liquid and start breaking down.
- Add in coriander, cumin, turmeric, black pepper, and salt.
- Saute until spices are fragrant, about 30 seconds. Be careful not to burn!
- Deglaze with a tablespoon or two of water.
- Stir in coconut milk.
- Carefully add in fish pieces.
- Gently lift up the fish pieces so that the coconut milk reaches the floor of the inner pot, and the fish is coated with the sauce.
- Close the lid and pressure cook on high pressure for 2 minutes. *
- Do a Quick Release of pressure (QR) and open the lid.
- Add lime juice to the Instant Pot Indian Fish Curry.
- Gently stir the curry without breaking up the fish.
- Carefully remove fish and gravy into a serving bowl. Garnish with chopped cilantro and fresh tomato slices.
- Serve over rice.
Notes
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. chopped onions, tomatoes, etc.
- Optional: saute a cinnamon stick, 4 whole cloves, and 4 cardamom pods before adding onions.
- * If your pieces of fish are thin and/or delicate, pressure cook on low pressure for 5 minutes and do a quick release of pressure (QR).
- At any point in the Saute mode, if you find that the ingredients are burning, press ‘Cancel’ and then resume the Saute function once the Instant Pot has cooled down.
- To guard against splatter, use a
splatter screen. - See the blog post for more detailed recipe tips.
splatter screen.Nutrition
I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
If you loved this recipe, please give it a five ⭐ rating in the comment section below and please share it on social media using the social media share buttons at the top and bottom of this post. Thank you so much!
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Sharmila Nair
Family LOVED it. Made it with Instant Pot 6qt. Added some okra with it.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Oh thank you so much, Sharmila! I’m really happy to hear you liked it. Great idea to add some veggies too.
Jill Dulitsky
LOVE this! Found by googling frozen fish curry instant pot. It’s a real winner and very forgiving (subbed garlic powder and freeze dried ginger for fresh). I added extra veggies to bulk up. I used Trader Joe’s frozen cod and didn’t defrost. The whole family loved it! Will definitely add to the Covid rotation.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Jill, thank you for your lovely comment – it made my day! I am so glad it worked for you, even with frozen fish.
Lindsey Davis
First time I have made this, new Insta Pot. Left out the peppers and husband said add more tomato. However it was delicious. We like fish so this will be a definite make again.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks for commenting, Lindsey! I’m happy you like the recipe. I also garnish the curry with fresh tomatoes sometimes. That might be an option for you too!