Breadcrumb coated Fried fish

Breadcrumb coated Fried fish 

I come from a part of India where a piece of fish is almost compulsory with every principal meal except breakfast. Now to be honest I am not a fishoholic. I know there is no such word in the English dictionary but if selfie can become a word fishoholic is a perfect word to describe people who are obsessed with eating fish but then again I do love certain fish and Bhetki (a local fresh water fish with one single bone which is used for coated fries and curries ) is one of  my absolute favourite fish . Its probably the soft texture , the sweet taste and then of course there are memories attached to this fish.  Special occasion in a Bengali household would definitely mean Bhetki being served one way or the other. Usually India being the land of spices the breadcrumb coated fish fries served in Bengal have quite a sharp taste from the use of onion paste and ginger paste and garlic paste and green chilies but on an afternoon when I was dead tired and my best friend had come over I decided fries I would make but one that didn't need too much of work.

I must mention that I do enjoy the flavours of the ingredients I cook and so when I am cooking fish I do not mind the fishy smell. For me the idea of covering up its own flavours is not compulsory.

At first I had decided on the Classic British Fish n chips but without adequate all purpose flour at home I quickly changed it to breadcrumb coated fish fry since I had baked a sour cream bread a few days ago and when there is bread at home making breadcrumb doesn't take much time.

While many fish connoisseurs from the part of the world where I come from might not be too happy about the use of pork fat I decided on it because I read about beef dripping making Fish n chips tastier and so pork fat it was for my recipe but you can always leave that out. This breadcrumb coated fried fish along with a creamy homemade dip on a lazy Sunday afternoon with your best friend makes some great memories indeed.

So here is the recipe which serves 2 :-

I used two large fillets (say about 100gm per fillet)
I rubbed salt and freshly and finely ground black pepper on both its sides and marinated it for 1 hour

For the coating :-

1.5 cup of breadcrumbs (These cups hold 210ml of water)
1 egg whisked well
Salt and finely ground black pepper
All purpose flour for dredging the fillets , say a handful of it

Pork fat + vegetable oil for frying.

For the dip

2 tbsp sour cream
4 tbsp soft feta
1.5 tsp finely chopped jalapeno soaked in vinegar

Simply marinate the fish in salt and pepper and int he meanwhile make the bread crumb by preheating oven to 180 C and making small squares from your bread slices and baking them for 20 minutes. Turn them once after 10 minutes.

While it gets marinated make the dip by whisking soft feta , sour cream and then add the chopped jalapeno. You might add salt but I didn't need to since the soft feta had enough salt for my taste buds.

Now heat the vegetable oil with pork fat if using it or just the vegetable oil is not using pork fat. Don't let it smoke else your fish fry will turn black on the outside.

Now first dredge the fillets with all purpose flour and then dip it in the whisked egg and coat it well with breadcrumbs and then dip it in the egg again and finally coat well with breadcrumbs and fry on medium heat till its golden brown on both sides. Serve with the creamy dip.

Malpua

Malpua 

It is interesting how one food enthusiast has mentioned that even with the best of ingredients one can produce mediocre food if one's heart is not in what one is doing. It got me thinking about the years I have been in the kitchen and I suddenly realized I am passionate about cooking. Now I am no expert and if by any means some items do come out well it is mostly due to the blessings of many a food enthusiast.  I realized how, one person I know who has not made any mistakes in her kitchen has taught me the secret tricks of the world inside a kitchen.

Now, Malpua is a dish which is made in many a households across India, while some churn out soft, fluffy deliciously syrups ones some have something missing.

This got me thinking that had that one person not taught me the few secrets mine would have always been not upto the mark. So this I dedicate to my M. It is not my mother.

The trick is to reduce the milk till its thick and creamy and to get the creamiest of reduced milk the trick is to add a spoonful of clarified butter or plain butter and stir the pot from time to time.

The only way to get a grip of cooking is patience. Nothing which is delicious can be made quickly without love for the dish. This is mostly a common recipe across Bengal except that I use saffron for the flavouring and leave out any spice in the batter except a bit of green cardamom.

Makes 12 Malpuas :

So the ingredients are simple

1 litre of full cream milk reduced to 600ml
1 tablespoon of clarified butter / butter
1 cup of sifted all purpose flour
a little less than a cup of semolina/sooji
2 green cardamom finely ground minus the skin
2 tablespoonful of sugar (ground)
Chopped pistachios
Refined oil for frying

For the syrup
water to sugar ratio is 1:1
A few strands of saffron
In case one doesn't have saffron green cardamom along with a pinch of nutmeg makes a wonderful flavouring.

One needs to mix the flour and semolina  bit by bit to make a batter with the milk and sugar and let it rest for at least 5 hours or more.

When frying the Malpua if one adds a bit of ghee/clarified butter to the oil it gives out a delicious aroma.
Take it off the heat and immediately put it in the single thread syrup and soak it for 5 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle the pistachios on top.

For the syrup one mixes the water and sugar and adds the flavourings and brings it to a boil and then simmers it for about 5 minutes to 10 minutes. The syrup should never be too thick for Malpuas else it wouldn't penetrate the malpua deep within to render it delicious and syrupy.

The most important point to remember is that the heat must be adjusted from medium to high to low. High heat throughout frying would burn the Malpua and leave dark patches or a dark edge but at the same time you cannot keep the heat to a low throughout the process because if the heat is too less the Mapluas will not fluff up properly.