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Friday, September 19, 2008

Pomfret or Bhangda Fish Fry / Konkani Fish Fry

 Pomfret fry


Bhanga fry

This time I bought frozen white pomfret from Coconut Hill grocery store. I usually buy it from the Chinese Ranch market, but the frozen fish from Coconut Hill turned out to be very fresh and tastier. I also buy bhagda or
Mackerel from the same store. You will also find Indian Mackerel or Bhangda, Sardines (Tarlo) and other kinds of fish in the frozen section. My mother makes the masala and applies it directly to the fish. But recently my grandmom's sister M Pacchi who was visiting them at home taught her to make "masala guli" or "masala ball" and store the remaining masala in the freezer. Here is her fish fry recipe.

Ingredients

1 pomfret fish
8-10 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon tamarind concentrate or juice
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 cup Semolina or rice powder for coating
oil for frying

Method

Remove the fins and the scales of the fish and cut it into thin slices. I discarded the head and tail of the fish. Chop the garlic cloves and grind it with salt, tamarind juice, turmeric powder and red chili powder into a fine paste. I crush the garlic using stone crusher and make it into a ball using my fingers. If your skin is sensitive to chilli, apply oil to your fingers before doing this.


Coat the fish pieces well with this paste and keep aside for 30 -45 minutes. Store the remaining masala in the freezer for future use. Coat the fish in semolina or rice powder. This can be deep fried in hot oil or shallow fried on a tava. I usually shallow fry it as it consumes less oil. Serve hot with rice and fish or prawn curry.

Preparation time: 1 hour