The word ‘Fish fry’ means either shallow frying or deep frying the pieces of a fish coated with salt and some spices. But in Kolkatan lingo, fish fry is a special snack rather a starter made from Bhetki fish (Asian Seabass) fillet coated with breadcrumbs. One can just stop by any of the numerous road side snack bars in Kolkata and find the inexpressible pleasure with just a bite in the crunchy fish fry dipped in mustard sauce with a bit of salad.
During my stay in Europe I always missed the Bhetki fish and forced to substitute it with either Atlantic Seabass, Cod or Pangasius if I had any plan of making fish fries. This time I took the opportunity to the fullest for being in Kolkata and did not miss the chance to prepare Bhetki fish fry for one of my good friends during her visit to my place. She was most certainly impressed.
Ingredients to serve 6 :
- Bhetki fish fillet (thinly sliced) – 6 pieces (approx. 250 gm.)
- Ginger paste – 1 tbspoon
- Garlic paste – ½ tbspoon
- Chopped green chilli – 2
- Lemon juice – 1 tbspoon
- Black pepper powder – 1 teaspoon
- Sugar – ½ teaspoon
- Salt to taste
- Mustard oil – 1 tbspoon
- Egg (beaten) – 1
- Breadcrumbs to coat
- Oil for deep frying
Procedure :
Prepare a marinade with beaten egg, ginger paste, garlic paste, green chilli, black pepper powder, lemon juice, salt, sugar and mustard oil.
Coat the fish fillets with the prepared marinade and keep aside for minimum 2 hours.
Now spread the breadcrumbs on a plate and coat the marinated fish twice with it. Press by hand on flat work surface to give cutlet like shape. Use a knife to make the cutlets even, through the edges.
Deep fry the cutlets over medium flame till golden brown.
Serve with salad, tomato sauce and mustard sauce (Kasundi in Bengali)
teatimechic
That picture just makes me hungry :)..
Jayeeta
Thanks for your lovely words….😊
Anirban Sarkar
You do get bhetki in Europe Jayeeta. It is sold as Barramundi Cod. It is not as commonly available as it is in Kolkata, but you will definitely find if you look around a bit. We get fresh ones with our fishmonger here in the UK and he is not a speciality Bangladeshi fish merchant but a regular one. We don’t get it in supermarkets though.
Jayeeta
Oh really, I never knew that…..but I heard that almost every Indian thing is available in UK 😋….then you can easily prepare Bhetki fish fry and relish it sitting far away from Kolkata, right ?????
Anirban Sarkar
What you heard is very true. It is definitely more expensive to buy in the UK than in Kolkata, but more often than not you get a better quality product here. My mother usually takes back spices from here when she visits us. She says the quality of spices is much better than what she gets back in India. I totally agree with her.
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