Fish masala fry made with fish coated with spicy marinade and fried on a tawa or pan. It is also known as fish tawa fry or Anjal masala fry . This is a spicy dish from Mangalorean cuisine. Serve it as a side dish with dal and rice.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Total Time35 minutesmins
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 5
Calories: 415kcal
Author: Preeti
Equipment
Tawa/Pan/Griddle
Ingredients
To marinate the fish
5fish fillets
salt to taste
¼teaspoonturmeric powder
2tablespoonlemon juice
For masala
15Byadagi red chilies(or use Kashmiri red chilies)
1tablespooncoriander seeds
½teaspoonblack peppercorns
a pinch of mustard seeds
¼teaspoonfenugreek seedsmethi
a pinch carom seedsajwain
½teaspooncumin
1small onion
6garlic cloves
1-inchginger
¼teaspoonturmeric powder
1spring curry leavesoptional
a small ball of tamarindremove the seeds
For fry
1onionchopped
2springcurry leaves
Instructions
How to make Fish Masala Fry
Marinate the fish with salt, turmeric and lemon juice. Set this aside.
Soak Byadagi dried red chilies in hot water for 10 minutes.
Heat a pan over medium heat. Roast coriander seeds, cumin, black peppercorns, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, and carom seeds until aromatic. Set this aside on a plate to cool down.
In a mixer/grinder jar, add the red chilies, all the roasted ingredients, onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric powder, curry leaves and tamarind.
Add little water and grind it to thick paste. Transfer the masala to a bowl.
Add salt and combine. Be careful while adding salt. We have already added salt to fish while marinating it.
Apply the prepared tawa masala to the fish on both sides.
For fry
Heat 2 tablespoon of oil in a pan over medium heat.
Place the fish on the pan and reduce the heat.
Fry the fish for 3-4 minutes on each side until it is cooked. Remove it to a plate. The time depends on the cut of the fish. If it is thick then it will require some more time to cook.
In the same pan, add onion and curry leaves. Sauté until onions over medium heat until golden.
Reduce the heat and add 5-6 tablespoon of the prepared masala. Cook until the masala starts to leave oil from the sides. Stir it continuously to avoid the masala sticking to the base of the pan.
Add the fish back to the pan. Apply the masala on the fish and cook it for a minute (each side).
Spicy fish masala fry is ready to serve.
Video
Notes
The selection of the right type of fish is important. Use any fish that is bigger in size with thick flesh. You cannot use any soft or delicate fish for this recipe.
Select the right type of red chilies. I have used byadagi red chilies. They are less spicy and give a bright red color to the dish. You can use any red chilies but add it as per your taste (depending upon the spiciness of red chilies you are using).
Deseed the red chilies to reduce the heat or the spiciness from it.
The addition of tamarind balances the spiciness of the chilies. You can add lemon juice to substitute it.
In some recipes, onions are skipped and directly the masala is fried. I suggest adding onions, as the sweetness from the onions balances the spiciness of the masala fried fish.
The spiciness of the dish depends on the quantity of masala that you add to the dish. If you like less spicy reduce the quantity of masala.
You can store the prepared masala paste in an airtight container in the freezer. Stays good for 15 days.
Always pan-fry fish on low heat. Also, cook the masala on low heat. If the heat is high, the masala will burn and the fish will remain uncooked.