Baked Fish Fry

by Deerga // January 28, 2016 // No Comments

Today I am posting a recipe that is a different take on one of the dishes that I had already posted before. It is one of my most favorite dishes among non vegetarian items and the version I have posted is a healthier alternative to the popular version known to many. it is the baked fish fry. I basically don’t prefer fried foods. So when I came to know of fish fry that can be baked I was stumped. Also baked fish fry can both be had as a snack as well as in a main course.

I first had baked fish fry at my friend’s house when we went there for dinner a few months back. I was so hooked to the dish that when we went there again, I personally requested her to prepare the dish while I was there so that I could learn the recipe 🙂 A big shout out to my dear friend 🙂 I love fish and any dish that can be made from fish. And when I learnt of a healthier alternative to frying it was a double bonanza 🙂 Baked fish fry is very easy to make. As with many of the non vegetarian dishes, especially dry varieties, marination is the key here. Beware of the consistency of the marinade. It should not be too thick or too watery. And, as passed down to me from my friend, vinegar is the key to get that tanginess in the fry. Also, make sure to get the marinade infused in the fish as much as possible.

I am planning to post the recipes for fish biriyani and chill fish in the near future and the baked fish fry is the main component in those dishes. Don’t forget to follow my blog for those amazing recipes. In case, you don’t have a conventional oven, you can also shallow fry the fillets instead of baking. BTW, Happy National Chocolate Cake Day. Have you all tried my chocolate cake recipe (which is by far the best dish I had baked in the last year, at least as attested by my friends :)) ?

Baked Fish Fry

Recipe type: Appetizer

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 6 small pieces

Ingredients

For the marinade:

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 2 tbsp
Clove powder - a pinch
Cinnamon powder - a pinch
Garlic powder - 1 tsp
Onion powder - 1 tsp
Black pepper powder - ½ tsp
White distilled vinegar - 1 tbsp
Salt as required
Vegetable oil - 1 tbsp
Corn flour - 1 ½ tbsp
Water - 2 to 4 tbsp
Tilapia fillet - 1 ¾ lb

Other ingredients:

Lemon – 1 no
Curry leaves – a sprig

Instructions

Grind cinnamon and clove separately and make powders of them if you don’t have store bought at home. Make a paste of ginger and garlic and keep it ready.
Mix all the above given ingredients under marinade together to a thick paste and check the seasoning. Add extra salt and spice if needed at this stage. Drizzle water at last to get the right consistency – do not add too much water otherwise the marinade won’t stick to the fish while baking.
Add the fish fillets to the marinade and give a good massage for at least 20 minutes. Leave it to rest overnight or for at least half an hour.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit. Spray or brush enough olive oil on the aluminum sheet.
Place the marinated fish fillets on top of the sheet and spray olive oil on them as well. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes.
Flip the fish fillets and spray the other side of the fillets with olive oil and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes.
Set the oven in broiler and bake for couple of minutes more to get the crispiness.
Remove from the oven and enjoy with lemon wedges on the side. You could also season curry leaves and toss them on top of the fish to add extra flavor to the dish.
Enjoy them as is as a snack or have them along with white rice and fish gravy ! 🙂

Fish Fry

by Deerga // June 8, 2015 // No Comments

Fish fry is the most popular dish among seafood in every Indian cuisine (as long as non vegetarian items are permissible). It is a very simple dish that stays true to its name i.e., fish that has been fried in oil. As I had mentioned in my fish gravy post, fish is one of my most favorite foods and anything made with it is a no brainer for me. I have been trying to make the perfect fish fry for quite some time and the problem for me was that I could not get the right fish variety. Most recently, I got to buy king fish (the one used back home for fish fry) and to my delight the fry I made from it turned out to be almost perfect ( 🙂 I will never say any of my dishes to be perfect since I always feel that there is still room for improvement) .

Fish fry is very popular back home and you can see vendors selling them along with other delicacies in beaches and as cart foods on streets. There are so many recipes to make fish fry but the one I have posted here is really simple. All you need are chilli powder, salt and lemon juice. For health conscious people out there, you can shallow fry instead of deep frying the fish. Fish fry with fish gravy is an awesome combination. You can also have it as an appetizer or as an evening snack 🙂

Try this simple and tasty fish fry in your kitchen and do let me know which method you prefer, deep fried or shallow fried?

Fish Fry

Recipe type: Appetizer

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 2 fish pieces

Ingredients

Red chilli powder – 1 ½ tsp
Salt as required
Lemon juice – 1 tsp
Fish – 2 pieces ( I used seer/king/vanjiram fish)
Oil – 2 tbsp

Instructions

Wash the fish thoroughly with little turmeric powder to get rid of the raw smell.
Make a thick paste of red chilli powder, salt and lemon juice. Check for salt and spiciness.
Apply the paste on both the sides of the fish and leave it for at least half an hour.
Heat oil in a flat pan, place the marinated fish on it and fry for a minute until one side is well fried.
Flip over and cook the other side until crispy.
Place it on a plate lined with tissue paper. Serve hot with spicy fish gravy and white rice or just have it as is! Enjoy! 

Achari Fish Tikka

by Deerga // December 7, 2014 // No Comments

Achari fish tikka is a Hyderabadi non-vegetarian dish supposedly having its origin from the Nizam cuisine. Achar is pickle in Hindi. So as the name suggests, Achari fish tikka is simply a variety of dish made from fish and pickle.
First when I came across this dish I was intrigued by the combination of fish and pickle (pickle with any other meat, for that matter). But after tasting it, I do see the use of pickle in this dish, it just tastes awesome.

I have had my own troubles when attempting to cook fish. For some reason, I am never satisfied with the end product when I prepare a fish based dish. So it has become the meat that I cook occasionally. But after coming across Achari fish tikka, I have cooked it twice already in the span of a month 🙂 Achari fish tikka is really easy to make and is healthy as well since we grill the fish in the oven. Please make sure to remove all moisture from the marinating ingredients as mentioned in my earlier post of chicken tikka found here. It goes well with almost any main dishes, be it rasam, sambar, chicken gravy or fish gravy etc. Usually Achari fish tikka is eaten as an appetizer with mint chutney on the side. But in our home, on days when I cook this dish, it is often had as a snack 🙂 and as a side dish.

Try this healthy and wonderful Achari fish tikka in your kitchen and let me know your equally wonderful thoughts and experience 🙂

Achaari Fish

Recipe type: Starter

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

Yogurt, hunged – 1 tbsp
Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder – ¼th tsp
Ajwain – ¼th tsp (optional)
Amchur powder – ¼th tsp
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Kashmiri red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Red chilli powder – ¼th tsp
Any pickle of your choice – ¼th tsp ( I used Priya onion pickle)
Salt as required
Olive oil or vegetable oil – 1 to 2 tbsp
Seer fish, cubes, skin removed – ½ pound (250 gms) – I used catfish

Instructions

Squeeze excess water in ginger garlic paste with the help of cheese cloth.
In a mixing bowl add all the above ingredients and make a paste.
Add fish cubes to the marinade and mix well.
Marinate the fish in the refrigerator at least for 2 hours.
Soak the wooden skewers in water for 15 mins.
Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F.
Insert the fish cubes on each skewers. Brush olive or vegetable oil on top of the fish and arrange skewers across the broiler pan.
Place the pan inside the oven and cook for 10 minutes.
Remove the pan, turn over the skewers and brush the fish cubes with little oil on top. Place the pan inside the oven and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes.
Enjoy the achari fish tikka with mint chutney or just as it is! 

Stove top method:

Heat the grilled pan and smear with little oil. Place the skewers and cook the fish turning over in between.

Notes

Fish cooks really fast when compare to other meats. So make sure to check in between and do not overcook the fish.
You could also add onion, tomato or bell peppers to this dish according to your choice.

Chicken Cawla

by Deerga // October 23, 2014 // No Comments

Chicken Cawla, interesting name, right? I am not sure about the origin of this dish but I am immensely grateful to whoever came up with this recipe – it is that good. I came across Chicken Cawla while watching a talk show and was hooked the moment I saw it. It is one of my HB’s most favorite dishes ever (no surprises here ;))

Chicken Cawla is something of a new entrant in my kitchen and right now, one of our favorite dishes. It is healthy (grilled) and tastes heavenly. The actual recipe for Chicken Cawla uses mustard oil but I used olive oil (trust me, it does tastes good!). One small trick to this wonderful recipe is to crush or grind the peppers right before adding to the chicken. This gives a fresh aroma and taste to the recipe.

Try this wonderful recipe and let me know your experience. As for me, I am off to make Chicken Cawla, yes, typing this recipe has made me hungry for it 😉

Chicken Cawla

Recipe type: Entree

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 3

Ingredients

Cilantro paste:

Cilantro – ½ a bunch
Curd – ½ cup
Green chillies – 2 nos
Salt – a generous pinch

To marinate :

Lemon juice – 2 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Cilantro paste – 1 cup
Mustard oil or olive oil – 1½ tbsp
Salt as required
Chicken thighs – 5 pieces

Other ingredients:

Mustard oil or olive oil – 1 tbsp
Cooking oil – 1½ tbsp
Cloves – 4 nos
Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Garlic, crushed – 4 nos
Ginger, julienned – 1 tbsp
Whole red chillies – 2 nos
Onion, finely chopped – 1 no
Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Black pepper powder – 1 ½ tsp
Salt as required

Instructions

Step 1:

Grind together cilantro, green chillies and ginger garlic paste to a fine paste and mix them with curd.
Marinate the chicken with the above given ingredients and refrigerate it overnight or at least for an hour.
Chop onions, crush garlic and julienne ginger.

Step 2:

You can either tandoor the chicken in the oven or shallow fry them.

Tandoor method:

Preheat the oven to 420 degrees F.
Place the marinated chicken on the tandoori pan, spray cooking oil on top of the chicken and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the pan, turn over the chicken and brush them with little oil on top. Cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Stove top method:

Heat oil in a flat pan and place the chicken pieces one by one in the pan. Cook until the chicken is done on one side. When the chicken is done on one side, turn over the chicken pieces and repeat the same. When the chicken is well done on both sides, remove from the pan, filtering all the excess oil. Add the chicken to the masala we have made.

Step 3:

Heat oil (cooking & mustard) in a flat pan and add cloves, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, whole red chillies, crushed garlic and julienned ginger. Sauté well and add onions. Sauté until the onions turn brown. Add chilli powder, cumin powder, black pepper powder and salt. Add the grilled or shallow fried chicken to the gravy. Sauté well until the masalas are well blended with the chicken. Switch off the flame and serve hot.

Notes

I used olive oil to make this recipe.
Try to grind fresh pepper powder just before adding to the dish, as it enhances the taste of the dish.

KERALA CHICKEN ROAST

by Deerga // August 5, 2014 // No Comments

A while ago, I had mentioned about my HB’s attempt at cooking tandoori chicken and the awesome result. Most recently he attempted another variety of chicken called the Kerala Chicken Roast. And again it turned out to be an awesome dish! As the name suggests, Kerala Chicken Roast is a specialty of God’s Own Country and also my neighboring state as well, Kerala. Kerala Chicken roast is an easy to cook, spicy yet a tasty dish. It is a dry variety and hence a side dish essentially. The main ingredient in preparing Kerala Chicken Roast is the kerala garam masala. It is different from regular garam masala in the sense that it has the strong fennel seed flavor. And using shallots is must for this dish. You can have Kerala Chicken Roast with almost all main entrees like Rice (with some gravy, or just rasam), parotta, chapati, biriyani etc. Back to my HB’s cooking experiments, it is two out of two so far (Tandoori Chicken and Kerala Chicken Roast). Kerala Chicken Roast is a new dish to me and my HB. I have never had it back home but after tasting it for the first time here, I had noted to myself to try it back home in a Kerala-cuisine restaurant. Try this simple and spicy recipe at your home and share your experiences in the comments section below 🙂

KERALA CHICKEN ROAST

Recipe type: Lunch

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

To marinate:

Chicken – 200 grams
Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Salt – a generous pinch
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Kerala garam masala:

Fennel seeds – 2 tbsp
Green cardamom – 5 nos
Cloves – ½ tbsp
Black pepper corn – 1 tbsp
Star anise – 1 no
Javetri- ½ no
Cinnamon stick – 1 “
Nutmeg – a pinch

Other ingredients:

Oil – 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Shallots – 6 nos, cut into slits
Curry leaves – a sprig , divided
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Kerala garam masala – 1 tbsp
Whole green chillies – 5 nos
Freshly ground pepper – ½ tbsp
Salt as required
Cilantro – for garnishing

Instructions

Wash and marinate the chicken with the above given ingredients for at least two hours.
Dry roast the garam masala ingredients for a minute, allow it to cool, blend into powder.
Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When it starts to sizzle add shallots and few curry leaves. Sauté for a minute.
Add the marinated chicken and sauté well. close the lid and cook until the chicken is half done.
Add the kerala garam masala and salt and give it a stir.
Add whole green chillies and sauté until all the water is well absorbed and oil ooze out from the chicken.
Now add in the remaining curry leaves and freshly crushed pepper. Sauté for a minute and switch off the flame.
Garnish with chopped cilantro. Enjoy with hot rice or Indian flat breads!

CHICKEN TIKKA

by Deerga // July 16, 2014 // No Comments

Chicken Tikka is a popular north Indian dish made of small pieces of boneless chicken. The work Tikka means pieces (in Hindi). The peparation method for making chicken tikka is unique in the sense that the chicken pieces are baked in a clay oven called Tandoor. Given that we can’t have tandoors at home (atleast most of us, including me :)), conventional oven is a good alternative. It still tastes great baking the chicken tikka in an oven. Chicken Tikka is also the base for another popular dish called the Chicken Tikka masala, a tasty gravy. One of the main pain points for making chicken tikka masala, apart from the Tandoor is the moisture content in the chicken. Make sure to remove all moisture from the chicken tikka and the marinating ingredients as well. I usually marinate the chicken overnight which given the chicken tikka a nice flavor given that the masala gets absorbed by the chicken through the night. Chicken tikka is very popular in overseas Indian restaurants and as far I have seen, it is one of the most popular indian dishes among foreigners (along with naan). Also, given its dual benefit of having it as a dry item as well as a gravy (chicken tikka masala), it is one of the go-to dishes in functions like weddings, get-togethers and also in hotel buffets. Hot Chicken Tikka with a squeeze of lemon juice and coriander chutney tastes like heaven and can make anyone drool just by a glimpse of it. Here is the recipe to this wonderful dish. Let me know your thoughts and comments on your experience with Chicken tikka!

CHICKEN TIKKA

Recipe type: Lunch

Cuisine: Indian

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 3

Ingredients

Marinade #1 :

Chicken thighs – 800 grms
Ginger & garlic paste – ½ tbs
Kashmiri red chilli powder – 1 tbs
Salt – a pinch
Lemon juice – 1 tbs

Marinade #2:

Gram flour – 2 tbs
Kashmiri chilli powder – ½ tsp
Ginger & garlic paste – 1 tbs ( squeeze all the moisture )
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Garam masala – ½ tsp
Cardamom powder – a pinch
Dry Fenugreek leaves / Kasthuri methi – 1 /2 tbs
Oil – 2 tbs
Yogurt – 3 /4 cup (extract all the moisture with the help of muslin/cheese cloth)
Onion – 1 (cut into cubes)
Tomato – 1 (cut into cubes)
Bell pepper – 1 (cut into cubes)

Chat masala mix:

Chat masala – 1 tbs
Dry mint leaves – 1 tbs (crushed)

Instructions

Wash and cut the chicken pieces into small tikka (uniform) size cubes. (smaller sizes are just good). Pat it dry with the clean tissue.
Marinate the chicken given under marination #1 and leave for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
Now cook the gram flour in a wide pan with a tbs of oil (in a medium flame). Keep stirring the gram flour for a couple of minutes and switch off the flame.
Mix the ingredients given under marination #2 and check the salt and spices.
Now mix marination #1 and #2 all together and leave it for at least 3 hours or refrigerate overnight.
Soak the wooden skewers in water for 20 minutes (So that it don’t get burnt while you put it in the oven). While skewers are soaking, bring chicken to room temperature
Preheat the oven to 450°F or max and put in in boiler mode.
Brush a broiler pan lightly with oil.
Divide chicken among skewers (about 4 cubes per skewer) followed by a piece each of onion, bell pepper and tomato cube in between the chicken cubes, leaving an ⅛-inch space between cubes.
Repeat the step on each skewers. Brush oil on top of the chicken and arrange skewers across pan. The chicken is now skewered and ready to be grilled.
Place the pan inside the oven and cook for 20 minutes. (checking between 8 to 10 minutes)
Remove the pan, turn over the skewer and brush the chicken cubes with little oil on top.
Now remove the rack from the oven and place it one layer up (closer to the filament), place the pan on the rack and broil for another 5 minute or until browned in spots.
The nice and juicy chicken tikka is now ready.
Mix chat masala and dry mint leaves and make a powder.
Sprinkle little bit of the chat masala mix and lime juice on top of the kabab.
Chicken tikka can be eaten with green coriander chutney served with onion rings and lemon,

DRUMSTICK TANDOORI CHICKEN

by Deerga // May 4, 2014 // No Comments

There are certain events that happen very rarely in your life and my HB cooking is certainly one of those. And boy does he cook! The other day he tried his hand in the kitchen and the end product was a delicious tandoori chicken!
Tandoori chicken is a very famous chicken dish from north India. All restaurants in the US have tandoori chicken in their menu and is well known among Americans.
In fact, there are so many tandoori chicken recipes out there posted by Americans in the internet. Tandoori chicken is one of the healthiest chicken recipes since it does not involve too much oil (oil is added only at the end of preparation).
My HB’s recipe is an adaption of VareVah chef’s recipe. It is very simple and easy to make. One main advantage of this recipe is that you don’t have to marinate the chicken for hours like in other chicken recipes. Do try it in your home and let me know your experiences 🙂

DRUMSTICK TANDOORI CHICKEN

Recipe type: Lunch

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 3

Ingredients

Drumstick chicken – 2
Red chilli powder – 1 to 2 tbsp
Salt as required
Lemon juice – 4 tbsp
Curd - 2 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste - tbsp
Pepper powder – ½ tsp
Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Cumin powder – ½ tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
Dry fenugreek leaves (kasthoori methi) – 1 tbsp
Cooking oil/ spray

Instructions

Wash the drumstick chicken thoroughly in running water and dab it with tissue/towel. Make few gashes in the chicken
Mix a tbsp of red chilli powder, a tsp of salt and lemon juice and make it in to a paste. Rub this paste on chicken and make sure it is well applied on the cuts that had made on the chicken.
Preheat the oven to 420 °F.
Mix yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder, half a tsp each of salt, pepper powder , kasthoori methi leaves(crushed with your palms), garam masala, turmeric powder, cumin powder, a tbsp of coriander powder and 2 tbsp of lime juice and make a thick paste without any lumps. Add red color to the marination (always mix food color with little water and add to your dish).
Place the marinated chicken on the tandoori pan, spray cooking oil on top of the chicken and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the pan, turn over the chicken and brush them with little oil on top. Cook for another 10 minutes.

Notes

Try to use thick yogurt for marination in order to get thick marinade.

CHICKEN 65

by Deerga // April 13, 2014 // No Comments

Chicken 65 is a popular chicken dish that was first invented in Tamilnadu, India. It is a popular street food, bar food and snack item.
Honestly, I don’t know the true origin of the name Chicken 65. There are so many anecdotes describing their invention. Popular among them are,

– In 1965, the owner of the famous Buhari hotel in Chennai invented this recipe and hence the name Chicken 65.

– In earlier days, there used to be a military canteen in Chennai whose menu item 65 was a popular chicken dish. The north Indian soldiers stationed there could not read the menu since it was in Tamil. So they always ordered as menu item 65 chicken i.e., Chicken 65.

So you guys decide which story sounds plausible (I personally choose the Buhari version 😉

Nowadays, chicken 65 made in restaurants and street corners use various chemicals to bring out that reddish brown color and crispiness. The recipe I have given here is home-made made from scratch straight from my mom’s kitchen.
On days when I feel lazy I use aachi chicken masala mix.
Try it out and let me know if you like it 🙂

CHICKEN 65

Recipe type: Lunch

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 2 to 3

Chicken 65 is a popular chicken dish that was first invented in Tamilnadu, India. It is a popular street food, bar food and snack item.

Ingredients

Chicken – 250 grams / 0.5 lb
Corn flour – 1 tbsp
Rice flour – 1 tbsp
All purpose flour – 1 tbsp
Ginger- Garlic paste – 2 tbsp
Curry leaves – few
Kashmiri red chilli powder – 2 tbsp
Egg – 1
Tomato ketchup – 1 tsp
Soy sauce – 1 tsp
Salt as required
Oil for deep frying

Instructions

Wash the chicken in running water, drain and marinate with the above given ingredients (Beat the egg before adding to the chicken) and leave it for half an hour.
Heat oil in a frying pan, deep fry the marinated chicken and drain on a plate lined with paper napkin. Serve it hot or warm. Enjoy!