Batter Fried Fish (Bengali style)

Batter Fried Fish (Bengali style) 

This post is special for a number of reasons. You see sometimes you need a bit of push to do what you love the most. So here is the deal. With Kolkata Food Blogger's 'Durga Puja Bhuri Bhoj  I got  the right kind of inspiration to make this dish. 

The point is that,  you may take the girl away from Calcutta but you can't take the fish away from her. Yes my dear readers I am in a fish heaven. I was initially apprehensive about Bombay aka Mumbai because it was unfamiliar territory for me but once I discovered the local supermarket which might not have the fish that I am familiar with in Calcutta but has a world of delightful fish, there is fresh Sardine and Mackerel and fresh Tuna. Oh I was excited and delighted.

Now the point is these fish gives you the opportunity to make wonderful healthy meals especially suitable for salads, pasta etc . Back home most of the fish we eat is fresh water fish and has tiny bones all over them and it is a delight for Bengalis to eat those fish and take out the bones while eating but they don't give too much of opportunity to be cooked in any other form than the traditional Bengali recipes which has its own charm but then no other fish can take the place of the sweet 'Bhetki' a large fish with a single bone which is mostly used for fillets and it is this same fish which is used for the famous Bengali fish fry (breadcrumb coated deep fried fillets ) or the batter fried fish served on special occasions.

With the famous festival round the corner I was thinking how lovely it would have been to indulge in some batter fried fish but all I had in the house was basa fish which has its own delight but then for me batter fried fish instantly meant the Bhetki fish. While I was preparing myself to indulge in some nostalgia I realized there are a million other Bengalis who are away from home craving batter fried fish. While the taste of bhetki cannot be imitated I have heard about Tialpia being its replacement but to be fair neither did the fish market have tilapia this particular day nor was bhetki available and so I used basa .

So this recipe I dedicate to all those people who have had to make a home away from home.

Wait there is more. I have a creamy lemony homemade dip for the batter fried fish as well.

Before I share a recipe I must tell you about my friend Pritha , a lady with amazing culinary enthusiasm. Check out her delightful recipe for Bengali Fish Croquets (Macher Chop) another delightful Bengali indulgence to be taken with a cup of tea or just like that

Serves 2

For the Batter fried fish

Marination :-

200gm Boneless fillet (While its ideal to use Bhetki you can use any boneless fish fillet)
2 tsp smooth garlic paste
1.5 tsp smooth ginger paste
Half a medium sized onion
2 green chilies
Salt as per taste
2 tsp oil

For the batter :-

3 tbsp all purpose flour
1.5 tbsp gram flour
1 tbsp rice flour
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp hot oil
Pinch of salt

Oil for frying

For the dip

300gm curd which is drained of water by hanging it in a muslin cloth or cheesecloth
3 large cloves of garlic
Juice from half a lemon
Salt as per taste
1/3rd cup Extra Virgin Olive oil
1 tbsp chives

First make your hand curd and while the water from the curd is being drained marinate your fish by making a smooth paste with the garlic paste, ginger paste, onion and green chilies and the oil. Leave it for half an hour. Now you'l see some of the marinate sticking to the bottom of the bowl.

In the meantime make the dip and chill it. Simply blend the garlic with salt , extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice and then whisk in the hung curd and the smooth blend of garlic oil and lemon juice , add finely chopped chives and chill it.

Don't worry simply transfer the marinated  fish to another bowl and 1/4th  cup of water in the same bowl in which you have marinated the fish and mix well. Preserve this water

Now take a large bowl , one where you can easily dip the fish and make the batter by mixing the dry ingredients (Flour , gram flour and rice flour) and then slowly add the water from the bowl in which the fish was marinated to make a smooth batter. Add a pinch of salt and and 1/4th cup water .

Now here is a trick for crispy batter fried fish. Heat the oil for frying and use 1 tbsp of the hot oil in the batter and whisk well. There is also the two time fry method.

Now dip the fish in the batter and deep fry it on low heat for about 2 minutes on either side and keep aside. Just before serving fry the already fried fish on medium heat for about 30 seconds on each side and you'l be delighted with the crispiness. Serve with the dip and enjoy.

Important tips :-

1. You must always fry the batter fried fish in low heat else it will quickly burn on the outside leaving the insides uncooked. 
2. Rice flour added to the batter lends its crispiness. I have used the old fashioned method but in modern times people use cornflour with a pinch of baking soda as well. 
3. The two time fry method helps make the fish extremely crispy. 

This is part of 

Tofu Patty

Tofu Patty 

For those of us who eat eggs breakfast can always be made fast and simple and healthy but then what about those who don't eat eggs? A well there are many an Indian option but most of them are time consuming to make and need a lot of pre-planning.

I came up with the idea for a Tofu patty on a day when I had precious little time on my hands. Usually I try and look up a recipe over the internet for a base but this time I really had no time to do that either. What came to my rescue was Tofu which had been soaked and in water and stored in the refrigerator and an age old Bengali method of making cottage cheese balls. I altered the recipe but followed the method of making the balls and flattened them to make patty.

So here goes the recipe :-

Serves 2

200gm Firm Tofu which has been soaked in water and kept in the refrigerator
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
Salt as per taste
Freshly ground pepper about 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp
3 tbsp to 4 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp finely minced garlic
2 tsp olive oil

Oil for frying

First drain the tofu and crumble it as finely as you can with clean hands and then add the rest of the ingredients except the cornflour and mix very well and try and make a dough. Slowly add the cornflour and mix it well. Now try and make little balls out of the dough, you will find it crumbling a bit but that's alright just keep pressing to make a patty.

Heat oil on medium heat and gently place the patty. Let it cook on medium to low heat for 2 minutes and flip it over and cook for 2 more minutes. Make sure you do not burn the patty.

Enjoy your breakfast by placing the patty inside wholewheat buns slathered with a hung curd dip for a healthy breakfast. Alternately you can slather butter or mayonnaise and make it an indulgence

Potato Cutlets

Potato Cutlets 

To be fair these Potato cutlets which I made on a particularly lazy Sunday without the internet in-between back to back episodes of Til' Death was mainly for the husband. My husband loves eating in which should be a boon for a cooking enthusiast such as myself but then at times his want to eat at home bites me hard. It was one of those days when I knew was going to be those overly lazy ones so I decided instead of going out for Dosas I would be prepared with ingredients for a quick snack.

In Bengal the easiest snack that I was served as a child was puffed up rice with the beautifully aromatic green mango and chili flavoured mustard oil and lots of fried potatoes. Now as much as I love fried food I am trying to avoid it these days and so I decided for the husband who suddenly becomes a fry obsessed maniac on holidays I would boil potatoes and make something.

I was about to make the Indian potato cutlets 'Aloo Tikki's which is one of my favourite Indian snacks but then I simply cannot imagine Tikkis without the fiery Green chutney hara bhara chutney and sonth ki chutney (a sweet and tangy sauce) and because I was feeling lazy I ditched the idea of Indian potato cutlets and simply made potato cutlets

Serves 2 (In our case my husband gobbled up 1.5 serving :) )

Here is what you need :-

2 big potatoes
Half a large onion finely chopped
2 large cloves of garlic finely chopped
Salt as per taste
1.5 tsp Fresh Thyme leaves
1 tsp Freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp cornflour

Olive oil for shallow frying

Simply mash everything except the oil together and make 4 cutlets and let them rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. This helps them harden up a bit and hold shape when frying.

Heat oil and shallow fry on low heat till its golden brown on both sides. Enjoy by itself or team it up with some mustard.

Pan Seared Tilapia

Pan Seared Tilapia

I love light lunches which are colourful but in a natural way. Well it means no artificial colours are used because nature herself provides us with a riot of colours. What more I like Fresh ingredients. 

So while I love Bhetki, a river fish found in Bengal when in Mumbai I would rather use the fresh Tilapia. Well so this is a light yet filling lunch. I believe the terms light and filling are both subjective so if this seems less filling for you do add some boiled potatoes with it. 

Serves 1

200gm Tilapia (1 whole fish)
2 asparagus
2 medium sized tomatoes
1 onion
1 tsp Olive oil
1/4th tsp cayenne pepper
Salt as per taste
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
Splash of white wine vinegar

Ask your fisherman to make fillets of the 200gm fish but make sure you carry back the head and bone for a nice stock for later use. Now marinate the fillets with salt, cayenne pepper and thyme for 30 minutes. In the meantime chop the asparagus and halve the onion and tomatoes.

Heat the oil and coat your non stick pan and add the fish and cook on medium heat for a  minutes and turn over and add the vegetables and cover and lower heat. Your fish will be done in another 30 seconds to 50 seconds. Take them out and add salt to the vegetables with the vinegar and toss about and serve.

Its that simple