Fish Curry With Star Anise
This Fish Curry With Star Anise is fragrant and flavor-packed. In it, fish is simmered in a deliciously spiced coconut and tomato broth. It pairs so well with roti and rice.
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I simply love listening to talk radio on my long commutes during the day. It doesn’t matter to me if the talk revolves around politics, religion, or money – it doesn’t matter to me if I am for or against whatever the topic might be. I simply love listening to talk radio! My daughter thinks I have issues; but, I think the talking keeps me alert because, unlike the lyrics to a song, I have no clue what might be said next.
Take yesterday, for instance, one radio host had listeners call in and answer this question: “If you could forget about one chore for the rest of your life – while doubling up on another, what would those respective chores be?”
People called in offering to forget about doing dishes, laundry, paying bills, etc.; but, the second part of that question remained unanswered.

For the rest of my drive, I couldn’t stop speculating about that second part of the question. Now, there aren’t a whole lot of chores I detest, and the ones I love, I am not sure I would want to double up on, so to speak.
I love the mental wind-down cooking gives me, but I am not sure I’d want to cook 2 full meals every night after work; I also happen to love yard-work; but, I live in a tiny house on almost an acre of land – that’s a lot of land to mow X 2 -with a pushmower! And then it hit me!
This month’s Recipe Redux challenge for members was to look through our cabinets and find an “ingredient/spice/condiment” that had been forgotten about and “give it the attention it needs”.
Well, I get around to cleaning out my spice cabinet maybe twice a year – sometimes even less (shame on me -huh?!). Oftentimes, I wish I cleaned it out more as I seem to find forgotten treasures in there when I do – only, by then they have passed their expiry date.
Now, if I could double up on cleaning out my spice cabinet, I would remember to use the Star Anise I found stashed in the back of it, more often!

Most of my exposure to star anise has been in savory dishes like rice-bryani and chicken and fish curries.
While star anise is said to have numerous health benefits -from alleviating respiratory tract infections to digestive issues to colic in babies- I just happen to love the subtle flavor it ads to curries like this fish one.
What are the ingredents needed to make this easy fish curry?
The ingredient list is a long one – but, you will use these spices in so many dishes from this blog.
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons coriander
- 2 teaspoons cayenne
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 4 pieces fish of your choice I used tilapia
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 1 inch piece of ginger chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2-3 pieces star anise
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 can of coconut milk 13.5 fl oz
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Mix together the paprika, cumin, coriander, cayenne, and turmeric and rub into both sides of the fish fillets.
- Add olive oil to a pan and when warm, add the chopped onion, garlic, and ginger and saute for about 10-12 minutes over a medium flame
- Add the spice coated fish fillets and saute for about 3 minutes on one side.
- Flip the fish over and then add the tomato paste, star anise, and coconut milk and let sauce simmer down for about 10-12 minutes.
- Serve warm – with rice or naan or roti
Here’s hoping y’all give this a try, because, in my humble opinion, spiced up fish is wonderful to end the day with!
Thanks so much for stopping by. If you make this recipe, please let me know in the comments below what you think of it, or tag your creation on social media with @savoryspin or #savoryspin. For more fusion, spice-filled, recipe ideas, please subscribe and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Pinterest!

Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons coriander
- 2 teaspoons cayenne
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 4 pieces fish of your choice I used tilapia
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 1 inch piece of ginger chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2-3 pieces star anise
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 can of coconut milk 13.5 fl oz
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix together the paprika, cumin, coriander, cayenne, and turmeric and rub into both sides of the fish fillets.
- Add olive oil to a pan and when warm, add the chopped onion, garlic, and ginger and saute for about 10-12 minutes over a medium flame
- Add the spice coated fish fillets and saute for about 3 minutes on one side.
- Flip the fish over and then add the tomato paste, star anise, and coconut milk and let sauce simmer down for about 10-12 minutes.
- Serve warm – with rice or naan or roti
The flavors were great. I have several suggested revisions – (1) Add a tsp of salt to the spice mixture. (2) Stir the tomato paste into the coconut milk. (3) Season both sides of this and let marinate about 1 hour. (4) Instead of adding the fish into the onion mixture do this: Add one tbs of the oil to the pan, when it reaches medium temperature, fry the seasoned fish on both side about three minutes each side and set aside. Add the remaining TBS of oil to the pan and add the chopped onion, garlic and ginger and sauce for about 10 -12 minutes, stir frequently. When slightly brown, stir in the coconut with tomato paste and star anise. Let the sauce simmer down until it’s reduced about 1/3 then add the fish. Continue simmering with the fish for about 10 minutes.
What a super flavorful fish dish – gotta try this one!