Spicy South Indian Style Fish Fry

Attention all seafood lovers!! Get ready to be blown over with this simple yet delightful recipe. Fish is one of my all time favourite seafood! This is one food I find very hard to resist. Fish is a low fat, high protein super food. Fish is an excellent source of vitamins, minerals and most important is the omega-3-fatty acids that make fish the most popular choice in healthy food. Today’s special recipe is simple and delectable Spicy South Indian style fish fry. This tempting fish fry can be prepared in a jiffy with minimal ingredients and with ginger garlic paste readily available in the refrigerator, it can be done in no time.

Today I’m using Tilapia fish steaks and I must say that Tilapia is the only fish variety which satisfies my craving for fish here in Germany. I always buy tilapia fillet as I’m hesitant to try the different fishes that are available in the market. However, I am slowly trying out different varieties of fishes now. One good thing I like about this fish fillet is, they are quite easy to clean and also to eat as it will not have any bones. Whereas the whole fish requires certain amount of effort in cleaning. Today I have opted for the whole fish. Using fresh fish is the best option rather than store bought frozen fish to get a perfect and delicious fish fry. But when you cannot find fresh fish, frozen ones can also be used. Trust me it still tastes excellent .

The secret to Spicy South Indian style fish fry or any perfect fish fry recipe is the spice combinations used to marinate, the fresh fish and shallow fried to perfection. There are many different ways that you can season your fish. Once you have smeared the marinade over the fish, you can let it marinate for a few minutes.You can adjust the spice level according to your taste. The fish does not turn crisp but the shallow fry helps the fish to get cooked with a partially smoked masala to wrap them.

This Spicy South Indian style fish fry can be eaten as an appetiser or tastes magical when paired with sambar or rasam rice as a side. Just the thought of it makes me drool right now. This recipe requires minimal oil but still has a crunchy outer and the masalas provides delightful and palatable experience to taste buds. Btw..if you follow my blog, this spice paste is almost similar to the one I used in masala egg fry.

It’s so simple to make, healthy and delectable! what else do you need for a blissful lunch or dinner …What do you think my friends?..

Off to the recipe for Spicy South Indian style fish fry…

Step-By-Step Process in making Spicy South Indian Style Fish Fry:

• Clean the fish with cold water along with lime and salt, pat dry and place on a plate.

• Finely chop some spring onions, slit 2 green chillies and set aside.

• Marinate with red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt. Rub the  ingredients to the fish steaks using your fingers.

• Now add ginger garlic paste and a few drops of oil and again rub the paste using your finger to coat the fish steaks. The oil helps as a binding agent. Basically, you are coating the fish slices with masala paste.

• Let the fish steaks marinate for at least 20 minutes or you can also leave it in refrigerator overnight for spices to blend.

Note: Alternatively you can also take all the ingredients under the section “To Marinate” and mix well to form a thick paste and then apply to the fish steaks. If required you can include a few drops of lime juice (Optional..I have not used in todays recipe).

• Heat oil in a pan over medium heat to shallow fry the fish steaks.
• Once the pan is hot enough, place the fish and let it cook on each side for 4 to 5 minutes such that the fish is fully cooked.

• Do not disturb or keep flipping sides. Fish is very delicate might lose its shape.

• Remove from the pan and set aside.

• Now add the spring onions, slit green chillies and curry leaves into the same pan and sprinkle some salt.
• Sauté  till they are translucent and turn a little brown.

• Turn off the heat and transfer the fried spring onions on to a plate.
• Yummy Spicy South Indian style fish fry is ready to serve. Now place the fried fish pieces on the bed of spring onions and serve.

Print Recipe

Spicy South Indian Style Fish Fry

Spicy South Indian style fish fry is a simple shallow fry of any fish with minimal ingredients and the spice coated fish provides a delightful and palatable experience to taste buds.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Main course/Appetizer

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: 3 to 4 servings

Author: Padma

Ingredients

• 500 grams Tilapia steaks or filet
• To marinate:
• 2 teaspoon Red chilli powder
• ¼ teapoon Turmeric powder
• 1½ teaspoon Ginger garlic paste
• Required salt divided
• ½ teaspoon oil
• To Garnish:
• 1 cup spring onions finely chopped
• 1 to 2 green chillies slit lengthwise
• Few curry leaves
• 1 Tablespoon coriander finely chopped
• To Shallow fry:
• 1 to 2 Tablespoons of oil

Instructions

• Clean fish steaks with cold water, pat dry and place on a plate.
• Marinate the fish steaks with ingredients under the section “To Marinate“. Using your fingers, rub the spices on the fish slices on both sides. Basically, you are coating the fish slices with masala paste.
• Marinate the fish slices for at least 20 minutes or you can also leave it in refrigerator overnight for spices to blend well into the fish steaks.
• Heat oil in a pan over medium heat to shallow fry the fish steaks.
• Once the pan is hot enough, place the fish steaks and let it cook on each side for 4 to 5 minutes such that the fish is fully cooked.
• Do not disturb or keep flipping sides. Fish being very delicate might lose its shape.
• Remove from the pan and set aside.
• Now add the chopped spring onions, slit green chillies and curry leaves into the same pan and sprinkle some salt. Sauté till they are translucent and turn a little brown.
• Turn off the heat and transfer the sautéed spring onions to a plate.
• Now place the fried fish pieces on the bed of spring onions and garnish with coriander and serve as an appetiser or with sambar or rasam rice as a side.

Notes

Adjust spice levels to suit your requirement.
You can use the marination for any fish or filet and make this recipe.
Buying the exact fish here is the biggest task.
Though many people deep fry fish, I would say try to pan fry the fishes. You save lot of oil and better for health. The fish also tends to become harder when deep fried.
To check if a fish slice is cooked, prick it with a fork. The fork should easily get in. Make sure not to overcook!
The oil added tot he marinade acts as a binding agent.

You might want to check out other popular posts from my blog- Fish Pulusu, crab curry, masala egg fry, South Indian style chicken fry, Classic Andhra style Chicken curry, Egg curry…and many more to come!..Stay Tuned!!

Happy Cooking 🙂

Padma