I am not in the mood or position to go for an elaborate recipe today.... so this super simple, supremely yum dish of BATTER FRIED POMFRET should be fine.... What do you say, my readers? Even if you are not so much of a fan of pomfret like me, you got to love it when cooked this way.... If we are considerate enough with the time taken for marination, this dish can be an overly delicious snack cum appetiser. I have got serious about exploring certain fresh, locally available fish, what else to do? Is it possible to wait for one particular supplier to get some "tyangra", even if I grab some and come home dancing.... the son will not touch one. The "rui / katla" that comes from the neighbouring state does not go down well with my taste buds.... I have grown up eating "Churni nodir Rui / Katla".... once we landed in Kolkata, the mother had some fixed fish sellers who sold fish caught from ponds and rivers only and not ones coming from "macher bheri".... I continued with that tradition.... As I always say my side of the family [read... my mother] is far from being modern when it comes to food.... She will be so happy to see some of my blogger friends owning a "shil-nora"to prepare spice paste.... she may even disown me and adopt them... haha... She always takes pride in saying... I was the eldest of six siblings.... I had to help my mother in all household chores.... I learnt to cut and clean "koi mach"..... climbing perch at age 12.... she had to because her father was a banker but not the director of it! Then I have to retaliate... "tumi to amai kichu kaaj kortey daoni, karo kaaj tomar pochondo hoyna".... She never had let me do any work... to which she has to say that her lazy daughter was always so engrossed in story books! The mother's daughter with a strict mother-in-law whose height of laziness can create legend did learn how to take care of home gradually..... but the parents' genes does not work when it comes to sports!.... the mother won medallions in "kho kho" and "kabadi" in school and college, the father played football... had to stop because of severe arthritic attacks, the brother had been so good in sprints, swimming, cricket... never pursued..... the daughter? takes almost double the time than normal to complete a half marathon.... then she has to post the picture in social media and seek some love from her friends.... They do deserve some good food share from me today.... just as yum a starter like BATTER FRIED POMFRET! Talking about genes.... it need not work always.... I must mention about my husband's sister in this regard.... I have hardly seen people who balance their work place and home so beautifully.... You enter through their main door and can feel the aesthetic sense of the couple.... She was in school.... I saw her folding clothes, cleaning corners when the mother was busy with her friends elsewhere.... When I was under heavy dose of sedatives after marriage due to my mental ailment, she even assisted me to the toilet while her mother was busy scolding my mother for not giving her the list of diseases I had before marriage.... My sister-in-law shares a bond with my mother appreciating each other.... I like it... the girl who slept till 12pm goes for trekking at the Himalayan belt twice a year with her certified trekker husband.
My sis-in-law's dearest brother had a lot of discouraging words on the way to drop me at the race venue yesterday.... oh! flocks of mad people going in the same direction at 4am like my mad wife.... are they like my wife?.... more interested in posting the picture with the race T-shirt and medallion on the social media rather than doing it for the love of the race! I had to say.... stop it boss! I do not fake it... I do not drive to the finishing line and post pictures in the social media! I do not even fear to show off my spotted facial skin or that impossible to measure waist line to the world, neither to the "chote nawab".... I will remain what I was or am, I still survive.... I will!..... however keen Times of India is showing me off his happening pictures with Kareena... haha! That glammy must be a nice woman who never lets me get jealous of her! I am one happy girl today because I do not have to go out the entire day.... too much of joint pains... As I always say never set me as an example.... I lead a carefree, casual life! Marathons require regular trainings.... I never do.... people are so sincere that they go for special diets two months prior to the race day... I hardly follow! If you are keen on such races.... follow what the experts has to say... you bet you can finish a half marathon within three hours. Each year the organisers give us a steep stretch of few kilometres, I slow down there, in the last lap of 5 kilometres.... I take maximum time... my feet gets heavy with pain.... this will not happen if you are trained well and are on proper diet. You are sincere with your life and will not eat "begun shutki"... dried fish with eggplants or rice dosas prior to such events like this insincere to the core woman....
Do not worry, I am not going to blog on them right at the moment.... Begun Shutki may happen some day but dosas never.... I do not blog on something I am not good at... Let me treat you with these crisp and yum BATTER FRIED POMFRET instead.... the mother used to do pomfret this way for the daughter who was not fond of this fish. If we can leave aside the marination time, it is a very easy and quick recipe with few ingredients with no labour at all. For this recipe, we need to take care of frying the fish in the right temperature throughout!I served the BATTER FRIED POMFRET with some spice coated potatoes..... help yourself with some beverages or with.... ahem... you know what!
INGREDIENTS : [for the marination]
Pomfret : 5-7 medium sized
Ginger Extract : 3tbsp
Garlic Extract : 5tbsp
Chilli Powder:1tbsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Lemon Juice : 4-5tbsp
Vinegar : 3-4tbsp
Salt : As Required
INGREDIENTS : [for the batter]
Fresh Coriander Leaves : 3tbsp chopped
Gram flour : 1small cup
Corn flour : 1/2small cup
Tandoori Masala Powder : 2tsp
Black Pepper Powder : 1tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1/2tsp
Salt : As Required
Oil to Fry : 100-150ml
METHOD :
Wash each fish thoroughly.... specially the stomach. Make slits on the body and marinate with the vinegar for an hour. Wash all the fish again under running water.
Now marinate the fish with the ginger & garlic extract, chilli powder, turmeric powder, lemon juice and salt. Coat well each of the fish, specially inside the stomach if you like me is not so friendly with the smell of sea fish.
Cover and let marinate for at least 2-3hours. Let us prepare the batter about 15-20 minutes prior to fry.
Take the gram flour and corn flour in a bowl. Add water little by little to prepare a thick paste. Add the chopped coriander leaves, black pepper powder, tandoori masala powder, turmeric powder, salt. Mix well to prepare a smooth but thick batter.
Heat oil in a pan or wok. Gently place two battered pomfrets on it. Let it cook at low heat until one side is done well and brown. The heat has to be low and hot at the same time.... which means we will continuously adjust it. We also need to coat the fish thick with batter.
Once one side gets brown, turn over the fish and let the other side be done well.
Once done, we will place them on to tissue papers..... and then transfer to serving plates. Enjoy hot with some masala aloo, salad, your favourite chutney, sauce, hot / cold beverage or well... you know what I love to have.... do not forget to drop few olives in to your glass.
