Most of my lovely Instafam said they find daal chawal as their ultimate comfort food, with some heavy voting for Keema Macaroni and the rest for Chicken Karhai. I guess it’s our childhood that defines what comfort means to us, right?

Ingredients

Here are a couple of pointers and notes about the ingredients.

• Fish – The South Asian spices work best with Kingfish or Mackerel, which are commonly found in Pakistan or India. Here in the Middle East, I have found 2 new favourites that work just as well, Hamour and Sherry. You can use any white fleshed, firm fish like Mahi-Mahi, Snapper, or Bass. This particular fish cut used in South Asian recipes is known as a “steak cut.
• Spices – Turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala powder, and cumin powder. You can use allspice powder in place of garam masala powder.
• Lemon – And lots of it! They add flavor to the fish but also help with the fishy smell.
• Rice flour – This adds in bringing crispiness to the fish. You can substitute cornflour or cornstarch in place of it
• Garlic Ginger Paste
• Oil – Any neutral oil for frying works.

Notes on Fish Cleaning.

If you are new to fish, I totally understand if you are intimidated by them. I get the seafood clerk at the market to cut my fish for me, but it still needs cleaning after I bring it home. If you’ve never cleaned or cooked with fish before, here’s a quick fish cutting, cleaning tutorial to help you. You can also go with frozen fish to become more comfortable with handling fresh fish.

Instructions

I’ve put together all the steps in a simple pictorial for you to see how easy this is to make.

Step 1: Add spices, garlic ginger paste to the fish steaks.

Step 2: Marinate the fish evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Step 3: Bring out the fish and sprinkle rice flour all over it and mix well.

Step 4: Fry the fish at medium heat on both sides until golden brown.

Tada! It’s ready! Serve the fish fry hot and slightly crispy! We usually pair it with daal chawal (rice and lentils) and a big bowl of kachumber salad on the side. Or you can have it with a green mint chutney and more lemons!

Expert Tips

• The fish is bound to have a smell of its own. Always treat your fish with lemon juice before the spices to get rid of the smell. Add the lemon juice to your fish and let it sit for a few minutes and then add the other ingredients.
• Always use a steel or glass bowl when marinating or storing fish in the fridge. The plastic tupperware is harder to wash to get rid of the fish smell.
• Always bring the fish out of the fridge for at least 10 to 15 minutes before frying. This makes it easy to fry the fish evenly with less oil splatter.
• Save the skins of the lemons after you’ve squeezed the juice out of them. After handling the fish, rub the lemon skins all over the front and back of your hands. You will be stink-free and lemony fresh!
• Light a candle in the kitchen when you start frying the fish; the candle absorbs the smell and prevents any lingering aroma.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Recipes on the Blog

Here are more seafood and chicken recipes that I’ve perfected for you:

Do you have any questions? I’m happy to help! And of course, If you try this recipe, I’d loveeeee to see it or simply hear about it! Hit me up in the comment section below and I’ll get back to asap! Happy Cooking!

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Crispy Spicy Fish Fry

Spice level: Medium to High | A sub-continental spice marinated fish recipe which is fried and eaten with rice, commonly eaten in India/Pakistan/Bangladesh.

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine South Asian

Diet Halal

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 14 pieces

Calories 230kcal

Author Wajiha

Ingredients

• 1 ½ kg Fish pieces Kingfish/Sherry/Hamour are our favourites for this recipe
• 2 tsp salt or to taste
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin seed powder zeera powder
• 2 tsp red chili powder lal mirch
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder Haldi
• 1 tsp All spice powder pisa wa garam masala
• 2 tsp garlic ginger paste
• 7 to 8 tbsp Lemon Juice or juice of 4 to 5 lemons’
• 2 tablespoon Rice flour see notes
• Oil for frying

Instructions

• Wash the fish thoroughly and make sure there are no scale left on the the skin of the fish.
• Add lemon juice to your fish and let it sit for 5 mins to 10 minutes.
• Add all the remaining spices along with garlic ginger paste and coat all the fish pieces well.
• Cover the marinated fish and let it sit for 30 minutes in the fridge.
• When you are ready to fry, sprinkle the rice flour on the fish pieces and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
• Shallow fry the fish at medium heat, flipping halfway through, until they turn golden brown. Takes 6 to 8 minutes.
• Serve hot with rice or chutney.

Notes

• You can marinate the fish overnight if needed.
• Rice flour makes the fish crispy. You can use cornflour instead as a substitute. 
• Pink fish, like Salmon, is rarely used for this recipe. I recommend White fish. 
• To bake this spicy fish, preheat the oven at 430°F or 220 C. Line a pan with parchment paper and grease well. Bake for 10 minutes and then flip over and bake for another 10 minutes. You can use the broiler at the end for 2 minutes for color

Nutrition

Serving: 1piece | Calories: 230kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 357mg | Potassium: 445mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 128IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.4mg

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