Amritsari fish
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Pieces of river fish coated in a spiced gram-flour batter with ajwain and deep-fried, a winter street-food speciality of Amritsar.
Region: Amritsar, PunjabOccasion: Winter evening snackTime: 40 min + 30 min marinatingServes: 4Non-vegetarian
Ingredients
- 500 g boneless firm white fish (such as singhara or sole), cut into fingers
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- ½ cup besan (gram flour)
- 2 tbsp rice flour
- 1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
- 1½ tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder, ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chaat masala
- Salt to taste
- Mustard oil for deep-frying
Method
- Rub the fish with salt and lemon juice and keep for 10 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. This removes any fishy smell.
- Mix the besan, rice flour, ajwain, chilli powder, turmeric, ginger-garlic paste and salt with a little water into a thick batter.
- Coat the fish pieces in the batter and leave for 30 minutes.
- Heat mustard oil until it smokes lightly, then lower to medium heat. Fry the fish in batches until crisp and golden, about 5 minutes.
- Drain on paper, sprinkle chaat masala and lemon juice, and serve hot with green chutney and onion rings.
History
Freshwater fish from the rivers and canals of Punjab has long been fried in gram-flour batter. Amritsar's small fish shops made this style famous.
Significance
Fried fish is a winter treat in Amritsar, when stalls in the old city fry fresh batches through the evening.