Kolkata style (East Indian/Bengali) Fish Fry
EAST INDIAN (KOLKATA) STYLE FISH FRY
One of the most popular street and fast foods in the city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) in Eastern India is the tangy, spicy fish fry. When the British ruled India, they brought their cuisine with them and the local Indian chefs put their own spin on them and developed many ‘Anglo-Indian’ dishes of which this is one of the most well known. The English ‘Fish and Chips’ became the ‘Kolkata Fish Fry’. Some other examples of similar fusion dishes are: ‘Dimer Devil Chop’ for ‘Deviled Eggs’, ‘Chicken Cutlet’ for ‘Chicken Fried Steak’ and ‘Mutton Chop’ for ‘Meat Croquettes’.
In England, Cod is the fish of choice but this is not readily available in India and so the chefs used a local fish named ‘Bhetki’. This fish is not available in the US, but the ‘Basa’ or ‘Swai’ is close in taste and texture. I used frozen ‘Basa’ which is widely available in large Asian groceries like ‘99 Ranch’ or ‘H-Mart’. If you can find fresh white fish, it will taste even better.
Ingredients:
Basa 1 lb.
Cilantro 1 cup
Fresh Mint ½ cup
Green Chillies (prefer Thai) 1-2
Ginger minced 1 tsp
Garlic minced 1 tsp
Vinegar 1 tbsp
Eggs 2
Corn Starch 1 tbsp
Panko style Bread crumbs
Lemon 1
Red Chilli flakes
Kosher Salt
Pepper
Oil for frying (I used corn oil) 2 cups
Method:
Cut the fish into 2-3” pieces
Wash and pat dry
1st marinade:
Sprinkle 1 tsp kosher salt, ½ tsp chili flakes and juice of ½ lemon.
Toss to coat evenly and let marinade for 15-20 minutes.
2nd marinade:
In a blender, mix the cilantro, mint, chillies, ginger, garlic and vinegar and blend to a coarse paste.
Rub this paste over the fish to coat well and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
(If you keep for longer, the fish will start to cook and won’t taste as good).
Batter:
Make 2 work stations:
- Mix 2 eggs with cornstarch, 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper in a wide bowl.
- Spread the Panko bread crumbs on a plate.
Frying:
Heat oil in a wok or saucepan.
(Remember you are going to deep fry, not pan fry, so you need at least 2 inches depth of oil).
I used a small wok that I have for deep frying.
While the oil is heating, prepare the fish.
Dip the fish in the egg mix and then coat with the bread crumbs, repeat the process again to double coat the fish.
Keep on a plate till you are ready to fry.
Once all the fish is ready and the oil is hot (you can check by dropping a few bread crumbs and once they are sizzling the oil is hot), add 1 fish fry at a time and fry for 4-5 minutes, turning once after 2-3 minutes, till golden brown.
Place the fish fry on a paper lined plate to drain the oil.
(If you get comfortable, you can fry more than one at the same time).
Serve warm with a simple salad of onions, tomatoes, cucumber, green chillies and cilantro with a squeeze of lemon juice.