Clean and wash the surmai slices. Lightly season with a salt and turmeric on both sides. Sprinkle with lemon juice, and keep aside for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the masala for the curry. In a blender take grated fresh coconut. You can normally source it in the frozen section of your grocery store. Else use powdered dry coconut. Add in garlic cloves, peeled ginger, ground coriander, ground turmeric, Kashmiri red chilli powder and salt.

Add a little water and ground to a fine paste.

Heat 1 tbsp. coconut oil in a pan. Add 1 small onion sliced along with one clove of garlic sliced. Also add in two green chillies. Lightly fry for a minute and then add the prepared ground paste. Cook it for a few minutes.

Add in 1.5 cups of water and 1 tsp. Malvani curry powder. Bring to a boil and add 10-12 petals of kokum. If you can’t source kokum, add tamarind paste. Let it heat up again to boiling. Add in the fish slices or steaks carefully along with some salt.

Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes. The time will vary depending upon the size of the surmai slices. Once done, garnish with chopped cilantro. Your tasty Malvani-style surmai fish curry is ready to eat.

Serve hot with boiled rice. You can use the exact same curry with other fishes like pomfret, mackerel or any firm white-fleshed fish that you like. This works with shrimp, chicken, paneer and tofu as well.