Fried Fish (Meen Porichathu)

 

I find it difficult to quantify thsi recipe, and give a loose list of ingredients and method. My children, and son-in-law, tell me that theirs doesn't turn out like mine. On one memorable occasion, back when they were in uni, one of my kids emulated the Shake & Bake method, filled a bag with chili powder and complained the fried fish was very spicy! It has taken me more than a decade but finally, I measured, made notes, and fried some fish. This one is for my daughter and son, and son-in-law. 

Ingredients

Fish - 200 gms (I used frozen sole from Costco)

Kashmiri chili powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp (I use Canola. Any vegetable oil will suffice)

I like to use a plate to do this. Wash and pat fish fillets dry. Assemble the chili & turmeric powders and salt.

Use 1/2 tsp of water to make a paste of the powders. You may use lime/lemon juice to do this. It lends a nice flavour to the fish.

Use a spatula to coat the fish with the chili-turmeric paste. 

Turn heat to high, and warm the pan before adding the oil. If you plan to fry all 4 fillets at the same time in a large pan, use 1 tbsp of oil. I used a smaller pan to fry in two batches, and used 1/2 tbsp oil for each batch. The oil must be hot, but not smoking. You will hear a sizzle when you put the fish in the pan. Swirl the pan after putting in the fish, so that it gets well coated with oil and does not stick to the pan. Sole cooks fast. 

When you have a good char on one side, turn over and continue to cook on high heat. 

Fry to preferred done-ness. I like it a little crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.

My fried fish looked like this. I like to eat it with rice, and dal or tomato rasam, and some vegetables.