EASY! Sri Lankan Canned Fish Curry (Mackerel)

If you wonder how to eat canned mackerel, this Sri Lankan canned mackerel curry recipe is for you, a delicious way to incorporate canned fish into a curry. Canned mackerel is a great source of healthy fat, quick & easy to cook, budget-friendly, and goes well with rice as well as bread so much. I hope you will try this Sri Lankan-style canned mackerel curry and enjoy it.

Use Your Choice of Canned Fish

There’s a lot of choice when it comes to canned fish. Tuna, salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel,… the list continues. You can also use other canned fish varieties available in water or oil instead of mackerel for making this curry.

Sri Lankan Canned Fish Curry

in Sri Lanka, canned fish curry is one of the most popular curries and there are many ways to prepare it. I make this canned mackerel curry that I am introducing today when I need gravy to eat with a slice of bread.

You can make this curry sauce in advance and divide it into portions and freeze it for later use. Then just reheat, stir in your favorite canned fish and you’ll have a delicious fish curry that’s ready in minutes.

Is Canned Mackerel Good for You?

Eating canned mackerel is healthy and it has good amounts of healthy fats and proteins but you should limit its consumption to 2 -3 times a week.

Canned mackerel is great because it’s:

• Available all through the year
• It’s cheap, affordable, and convenient.
• Nutritious food with healthy fat (DHA and EPA) and vitamin D.
• Versatile in various cooking methods and easy to cook with.
• considered as a good emergency food due to its long shelf life.

The Mackerel (Saba) Health Boom in Japan

In Japan, you’ll find plenty of tuna, salmon, and other species, but mackerel (Saba) seems to be the star of the show in the last few years considering it a healthy food. And you’ll find countless versions of it on the shelves. plain in water or oil, soy sauce flavor, and boiled in miso are the most common. 

More Canned Fish Recipe to Try

Ingredients

Most of the ingredients used in this recipe are easily available anywhere in the world. However, if you’re not familiar with Sri Lankan curry ingredients such as Sri Lankan roasted curry powder, curry leaves, pandan leaves, and tamarind, please read the post all the way through from beginning to end (before starting to cook) for useful information.

Main Ingredient

Canned mackerel: This recipe uses one in water and no salt. You can also use the one in oil.

Fresh Ingredients

Garlic: Sliced garlic (Minced or pasted garlic can be also used)
Ginger: Used sliced garlic (Minced or pasted garlic can be also used)
Onion: Used sliced onion (Chopped onion can be also used)
Green Chilies: Adding green chilies is optional
Tomato: Use your choice of tomato or substitute with tomato puree
Curry Leaves: Skip it if unavailable.
Pandan Leaves: Skip it if unavailable.

Whole Spices

Mustard seeds
Fenugreek
Cinnamon
Cardamom
Cloves

Ground Spices

Sri Lankan Roasted Curry Powder: If you cannot find it, you can use your choice of curry powder
Chili Powder: Adjust to your spice level
Turmeric Powder: Turmeric is an essential ingredient in Sri Lankan curries
Black Pepper: Use freshly ground pepper for the best flavor

Other

Cooking Oil: Traditionally coconut oil is used. Rice oil is a good substitution.
Coconut Milk: Use either fresh or canned coconut milk
Water: Need some water for thinning the coconut milk
Lime Juice: Fresh lime (or lemon) is preferable

Sri Lankan Curry Powder Recipes to Try

In this recipe, I used homemade Sri Lankan Roasted Curry Powder made with whole spices. You can probably buy it online, in nearby Sri Lankan grocery stores, or make your own. Once you made it, you can store it for up to a year and use it also in other Sri Lankan curries.

You can substitute Sri Lankan curry powder with other curry powders like madras curry powder or a curry powder of your choice, but more or less the taste can be different.

You can also use Sri Lankan Curry Powder made with pre-ground spices that you can make in less than 10 minutes either with homemade ground spices or with ground spices that you can buy at the grocery store or online.

Sri Lankan Basic 3-Spice Curry Powder (Thunapaha or Thuna Paha) recipe made with 3 whole spices (coriander, cumin, and fennel). If you love mild Sri Lankan curries, this is the curry powder to use where you do not want the spices to be too strong.

Super easy recipe for making Sri Lankan Basic Curry Powder (Thunapaha) with ground spices that you can buy at the grocery store or online. You need only 3 ground spices (coriander, cumin, and fennel) for making this mild spice mix and it takes only less than 5 minutes.

using Coconut Milk

Coconut milk adds richness and a creamy texture giving the authentic Sri Lankan flavor. In Sri Lanka, freshly squeezed coconut milk from grated coconut is widely used. However, in Japan, I use canned coconut milk and it is the best option I have. You can also use coconut milk powder dissolving it in warm water. And if you don’t have coconut milk use full-fat fresh milk.

In Sri Lanka, there are mainly two types of coconut milk based on the concentration: thick coconut milk, or “Miti Kiri” and thin coconut milk “Diya Kiri”.

Canned coconut milk is on the thicker side. So, when you want some thin coconut milk, you have to add some water to thin it out. Mix 1 part of water with 1 part of canned coconut milk. Adding thick coconut milk at the end of the cooking makes the curry more creamier.

Exotic Herbs Used

Fresh curry leaves (Karapincha) are an essential ingredient in Sri Lankan cooking and have a distinctive, flavor and fragrance. The best substitutes for fresh curry leaves are using frozen curry leaves. If you cannot find curry leaves, just skip them. They are edible and have many health benefits.

Pandan leaves are, along with curry leaves, also a widely used ingredient in Sri Lankan curries, that adds a distinct and aromatic flavor to a curry. You can buy it fresh, or frozen at some Asian food stores, as well as online. You can freeze them. It is not edible, so please remove them before serving.

Green chilies are also widely used as a cooking ingredient in Sri Lanka that add a milder heat and enhance the flavor of the curries beyond just pure heat. You can skip them altogether if you don’t like them or if you don’t have them.

Tamarind adds a very unique sourness to curries. Soak tamarind in hot water for about 10 minutes before adding it to the curry and make sure to remove the seeds if there are any. If you cannot find it, substitute it with lime, or lemon juice.

Useful Info

In Sri Lanka, curries are traditionally cooked in clay pots, and food cooked in clay pots tastes so good. So, I usually cook all my curries in clay pots and highly recommend using clay pots for cooking curries.

You can use the liquid in the mackerel tin if desired, as it’s basically water sometimes with added salt which is full of nutrition and flavor. But if it is too salty, you can use less and adjust as desired. Please read the label and decide for yourself whether to use it or not to use it.

You can remove the bones if you want to but the bones you find in canned mackerel are really soft and is a good sauce of calcium.

The aroma and flavor of mustard come from the essential oil contained inside the seeds. So, frying mustard seeds in oil instantly, the aroma of the mustard is absorbed in the oil making the gravy more flavorful.

HELPFUL TIPS

• Don’t dump in all the ingredients at once, for best results follow the instructions and make sure to stir-fry the ingredients separately. Each ingredient has to be cooked properly so the flavors can be in harmony.
• Make sure to stir the curry occasionally throughout the cooking process.
• Having larger chunks in the mackerel stir fry makes this fish curry really good. Add the mackerel at the end to prevent the soft meat from falling apart as it cooks.
• You can taste the curry while it is simmering and adjust the sourness and spiciness to your taste.
• If you want the canned fish curry to be less spicy, simply reduce the number of green chilies or chili powder. how spicy or mild you want it is completely up to you.
• Adding some fresh lime juice at the end of cooking also adds nice flavor and sourness.
• After cooking, let the curry sit for a while as it helps the fish to absorb the flavors and thicken the gravy.

Serving Ideas

Just plain rice or a piece of bread is what you really want to enjoy chicken curry. My favorite way to serve this mackerel curry is a piece of bread with coconut sambol. And it also goes well with fried rice, biryani, appa, indiappa, roti, naan, chapati, or paratha.

recipes to Try!

Here are some delicious Sri Lankan recipes to try and serve with this canned fish curry.

How Do You Store It?

Your curry needs to cool down to room temperature before placing it in the fridge. Store leftover it in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 to 4 days. If you like to freeze it, put it in a zip lock bag and then in the freezer for about 3 to 4 months. You can reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop.

You can also make this curry sauce in advance and divide it into portions and freeze it for later use. Then just reheat, stir in your favorite canned fish and you’ll have a delicious fish curry that’s ready in minutes.

Can you replace canned mackerel with fresh mackerel and cook this recipe?

Yes, you can! Please check out these Sri Lankan Fish Curry recipes to find out more about cooking Sri Lankan-style fish curries.

Sri Lankan Canned Mackerel Curry
(Step-by-Step Recipe)

If you’re not familiar with Sri Lankan curries and ingredients, please read the post all the way through from beginning to end (before starting to cook) for more information.

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 20 min
Servings: 2 to 3

Ingredients

1 tablespoon cooking oil, preferably coconut oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
4 garlic cloves, sliced or minced
1/2-inch ginger, sliced or minced
6 curry leaves
2-inch pandan leaf
2 green chilies, slitted
1 medium onion, sliced or chopped
2-inch cinnamon piece
2 to 3 cardamom pods
3 to 4 cloves
1/2 teaspoon roasted fenugreek seeds (*see the notes)
1 tablespoon chili powder (adjust to your spice level)
1 teaspoon Sri Lankan curry powder (or your choice of curry powder)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Salt to your taste
1 large tomato, diced
2 pieces of tamarind, soaked in warm water (optional)
100 ml thick coconut milk
100 ml warm water
400 g canned mackerel
50 ml thick coconut milk
1 teaspoon of fresh lime or lemon juice

NOTES
*You can dry roast the fenugreek seeds in a hot dry pan for about 2-3 minutes until it changes slightly in color and turns fragrant.
*Cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon are aromatics that we use to improve the flavor. if you can’t find all of these ingredients, a pinch of garam masala (about 1/8 teaspoon) would be a good substitute.

Instructions

I used Japanese canned mackerel in water (Saba kan).

Prepare the ingredients; canned mackerel, ginger, garlic, pandan leaves, curry leaves, onion, green chilies, tomato

Gather the spices; cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, mustard, turmeric, chili, Sri Lankan curry powder, fenugreek, salt and pepper.

In a large pan or pot, heat the oil. When hot, add mustard seeds, and fry for a minute or so, until they crackle.

Once the mustard seeds start to crackle, add the garlic, ginger, curry leaves, and pandan leaves and sauté for about one minute.

Add the onion, and green chili and sauté for a few minutes.

Add red chili powder, curry powder, turmeric powder, fenugreek, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves, and sauté for a few minutes. Make sure you stir continuously to ensure that spices roast evenly and no burning on the bottom.

Then add diced tomatoes. Mix, and then cook, stirring, on medium-low heat for about 3 minutes until tomatoes become soft and the raw smell of the ingredients is gone. Stir from time to time to stop the ingredients from sticking to the base of the pan.

Add water and thick coconut milk (or thin coconut milk), and stir to combine. Bring it to a boil and then then leave to simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes on low heat without covering.

Add tamarind if using, and stir to combine. Don’t increase the heat, it would curdle the milk. You can mash the tomatoes with the back of your spoon if desired, so you won’t get big chunks of tomatoes in the curry.

Add thick coconut milk. Mix well and simmer gently for about 2 minutes further.

When the gravy is ready, add the mackerel pieces with or without liquid inside, and simmer gently for about 5 minutes. Gently turn them at intervals, careful not to break it up if you like it that way. OR with the spoon break them into small pieces, if desired.

Taste the curry sauce and adjust the seasoning as necessary. You can adjust the spiciness and creaminess by adding more thick coconut milk. If the curry is too thin for your liking cook it for more few mins without covering it.

When the gravy has reduced to your preferred level, turn off the heat and squeeze 1/4 of a wedge of lime or lemon. Let the curry sit for a while as it helps the fish to absorb the flavors and thicken the gravy.

Serve with rice or a piece of bread.

Sri Lankan Canned Mackerel Curry
(Printable Recipe)

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More Recipes to Try

If you’re looking for more curry recipes, check out the recipes in the list below!