Fish Cafreal

Name: Fish Cafreal
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 5 cm/2 in cinnamon stick; 4–6 cloves; 1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste; salt, to taste; 1 tsp cumin seeds; 6 bream fillets (or other firm white fish) (400–600g/14oz–1lb 5oz each), washed; 160 g/5½ oz fresh coriander/cilantro leaves, washed, plus extra to serve; ¼ tsp ground turmeric; vegetable oil, for basting; 1 tbsp poppy seeds; 7–8 whole black peppercorns; 20 g/¾ oz fresh root ginger, washed; 8–10 green chillies, washed; 2 tbsp malt vinegar or tamarind paste; 12 garlic cloves, peeled; 1 tbsp lime juice; lemon wedges; pinch of Chaat Masala (store-bought); red onion rings

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Yatra

By Rohit Ghai

Published 2025

About

A Goan delicacy, cafreal fish is very popular across the globe. The dish is usually made with bream marinated in a green Goan spice paste, but some people use chicken as well. The paste is a delicious mix of fresh coriander/cilantro with aromatics and spices that really packs a punch.

Ingredients

6 bream fillets (or other firm white fish) (400–600g/14oz–1lb 5oz each), washed
vegetable oil, for basting

Asia
India
Goa
Fish course
Pescatarian

Method

For the first marinade, place the fish fillets in a shallow bowl and sprinkle with a little salt, the turmeric and lime juice, then rub with the ginger-garlic paste and set aside for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, blend all the ingredients for the second marinade to a smooth green paste.

Apply the second marinade to the fish pieces and rub it in well. Cover and refr