← Nouns Cooking · Indian

Ingredients

• 600 g firm white fish fillets (cod, haddock, basa or seer fish), cut into 4 cm chunks
• 3 cm piece Ginger, roughly chopped
• 5 cloves Garlic
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• ½ tsp Salt
• 100 g gram flour (besan)
• 2 tbsp Rice flour
• 1 tsp Carom seeds (ajwain), lightly crushed
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp Garam masala
• ¼ tsp Ground turmeric
• ½ tsp Salt
• 100 ml water, as needed
• vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• 1 tsp Chaat masala
• 1 Lemon, cut into wedges

Method

1. Pat the fish dry. Pound or blend the ginger and garlic to a paste, mix it with the lemon juice, chilli and salt and rub it over the fish. Leave for 20 min.
2. Whisk the gram flour, rice flour, ajwain, spices and salt with enough water to make a thick batter that coats the back of a spoon.
3. Heat the oil in a deep pan to 180°C (350°F). Add the fish to the batter and turn gently to coat.
4. Fry in batches for 4–5 min, turning once, until crisp and golden and the fish flakes easily. Drain on kitchen paper.
5. Sprinkle with chaat masala and serve hot with lemon wedges and green chutney.

Tips

• Rub the ajwain between your palms before adding it to release its thyme-like aroma; it’s the signature flavour of the dish.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food Archana's Kitchen Ranveer Brar