Spicy Crumb Fried Fish

November 06, 2013

And so Diwali is over and my parents have left. I did a lot of eating and cooking during the whole time my parents were here. While I made Ma cook for me my favourite dishes, I tried to return the favour by making some new dishes as well. Ma eats sparingly nowadays, blaming it on her age, but Deta is still eager to try new food. He saw a packet of Basa fish fillets one day at the shopping mall and wanted to know how it tasted like. I bought the fish fillets and experimented a little at home. The first attempt turned out to be a big disaster though everyone put up a brave face and said it was fine. I knew better.

So, I chucked all my great ideas about creating a new recipe and decided to stick to the tried and tested formula of a fish fry in my second attempt. That, thankfully, went about quite right and I even made Deta try his hand at frying the fish. Nobody had to put up an act of valour at the dining table that day.

Here is my recipe for spicy crumb fried fish.

Spicy Crumb Fried Fish

Ingredients:

2 fillets of Basa fish, cut into medium sized pieces
½ cup flour (maida)
1 egg, whisked
6-8 Marie biscuits, crushed to crumbs
Refined oil for frying

For the marinade, grind together
1 small onion
5-6 cloves of garlic
1 inch knob of ginger
2 green chillies

Add to the marinade
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon each of cumin and coriander powder
Salt to taste

Method:

Mix the fish pieces well with the marinade and let them rest for half an hour.

Heat sufficient oil in a deep bottomed wok or kadai. Spread the flour on a newspaper and dab the marinated fish in the flour. Dip this flour-coated piece of fish in the whisked egg. Finally, roll the fish in biscuit crumb and fry till it turns golden and is cooked. Remove and place on paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Continue frying the rest of the fish in the same manner. Serve hot with mayonnaise, mustard or any dipping sauce of your choice.

I was pretty happy with how my fried fish looked and tasted. The outer layer was crisp and packed with flavor while it was juicy and succulent inside. The fish kind of melted in the mouth. Finally, I felt that I had redeemed myself with this simple dish after the tragedy in the previous attempt.