Why Your Fish Curry Doesn’t Taste the Same Anymore
If your curry tastes flat even though the recipe hasn’t changed, the most likely reason is the fish. Fish loses texture and flavour the longer it spends between the water and your pan. Fish that has been stored for days still cooks and is still safe if kept cold, but it goes soft in a gravy and holds less flavour.
Same masala. Same coconut base. Same pan. But the fish breaks up in the gravy, and the spices sit on top instead of going in.
What changes as fish ages
- Texture: fish muscle softens over time, even on ice. Fresher fish holds its shape in a slow-cooked curry; older fish breaks apart.
- Flavour: the natural oils in fish, especially in oily fish like bangda and surmai, slowly oxidise. That is where the flat or “fishy” taste comes from.
- Smell: fresh fish smells clean and of the sea. A strong fishy or sour smell before cooking means it has been out of the water for a while.
None of this shows on a label. A clean pack and a photo of fish can’t tell you when it was caught.
How to tell before you cook
- Eyes: clear and full, not cloudy or sunken.
- Gills: bright red or pink, not brown or grey.
- Flesh: firm, and springs back when pressed.
- Skin: shiny, with scales attached.
- Smell: clean and of the sea, not sour or of ammonia.
If two of these fail, the fish will not give you the curry you remember.
What helps
Buy from someone who knows where the fish came from. A local seller who buys at the landing or the market each day can tell you what came in today and what didn’t. Ask them.
Buy closer to when you cook. Pre-ordering for the next morning means the seller buys for your order, rather than you picking from whatever is left.
Ask for the cut you need. Curry pieces cut from a whole fish hold up better than pre-cut pieces that have been sitting out.
How Relifish fits in
Relifish is a marketplace where you order directly from local fish sellers. Each seller lists what they have that day. You can order same-day while they are open, or pre-order tonight for tomorrow, and choose whether you want the fish whole, cleaned or cut. The seller delivers or keeps it ready for pickup.
Sellers on Relifish currently serve parts of Thane, Tardeo and Kamothe. Compare sellers for pomfret, surmai or bangda, or read how ordering works.
Questions? WhatsApp 9152207607 (7:30 AM to 9 PM) or email relifishstore@gmail.com.
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