DINNER IN 30 MINUTES
PANTRY-FRIENDLY
1
Step 1
Fry the onion in the oil for five minutes until soft. Add the garlic, ginger, curry powder and turmeric and cook for one minute.
DINNER IN 30 MINUTES
PANTRY-FRIENDLY
FISH · DINNER
Pilchard Curry
Quick pilchard curry made with a tin of pilchards in tomato sauce, onion and curry spices. A cheap, filling dinner in 30 minutes. Serves 4.
Total time30 min
YieldServes 4
DietFish & Seafood
Shopping12 ingredients
DifficultyEasy
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Ingredients
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Method
4 steps · about 30 minutes total
2
Step 2
Add the tomatoes, chilli and water and simmer for 10 minutes until the tomatoes break down into a sauce.
3
Step 3
Add the pilchards with their sauce, breaking them into large pieces. Simmer gently for five minutes until hot through.
4
Step 4
Taste, add salt if needed, and scatter with coriander. Serve with rice or pap.
Before you serve
Cooking notes & good-to-know answers.
Small details for confident timing, useful swaps, and safer leftovers.
Cooking notes
The soft bones in tinned pilchards are edible; leave them in or lift them out.
Move leftover pilchards from an opened tin into a covered container in the fridge and use them within two days.
Stir gently so the fish stays in chunks.
Good to know
Yes. Leave out the fresh chilli.
White rice, pap or bread.
Yes. Add one diced potato with the tomatoes and simmer until soft before you add the fish.
About this recipe
A tin of pilchards in tomato sauce is one of the cheapest proteins on the shelf. Cooked with onion, tomato and curry spices, it becomes a quick dinner many South Africans grew up on.
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