Fish Fry

For frying 4 medium slices of fish (king fish):

Mix the following:

2 tsp of chilli powder

1 tsp of coriander powder

1/2 tsp of turmeric powder

Salt to taste

2 tsp of vinegar (or 1 tsp of thick tamarind juice or juice of half lemon)


Clean, wash and dry fish slices and apply the above paste on both sides of the fillets. Keep aside to marinate for sometime.


**You can add this paste for a variation. It makes the fish fry without giving off 'fishy' smell.

(Optional) Grind to a paste: A handful of small (sambar) onions 1 tsp Jeera (cumminseed) 1 Tablespoon of coconut gratings (or 3 cloves of garlic and 1/4 inch piece of ginger) . Add to the above spice mix.


**You can use the lemon pepper ready spice mix available in USA. Just apply it on both sides (checking for salt to your taste), spray cooking oil on both sides and grill the fish. Totally oil free method of preparing any fish! (Shown in the picture)

Marinate for 1-2 hours.

To use less oil, follow this method to fry the fish.(Usually people deepfry fish.)


Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a non-stick flatbottomed pan. When hot, slide in the pieces of fish onto the oil and cover with a lid. Keep on high heat for for 2 minutes. Remove the lid, turn over the pieces and cook again for 2 minutes on high heat, with the lid again in place. Remove lid and turn the pieces gently over again to brown them further (one minute).

When golden brown, keep it on a paper towel for the excess oil to be absorbed.

Masala Fish Fry

A different version of the masala which is a recipe from our Keralite relatives and tastes awesome!
Use a tbsp of thick tamarind water to grind the following into a wet paste.
Grind together:
Coconut Gratings 2 tablespoon
Aniseeds (saunf, sombu) 2 tsp
Garlic 3 pieces
Ginger 1/2 inch piece, peeled
Chilli Powder  2 tsp
Turmeric Powder 1 tsp
Salt 1 tsp
Apply the paste on the washed and cleaned fish (for 1/4 kg slices). fry using the method given above.



Microwave Fish Fry
 If you want a still healthier option, cook it in a microwave oven for three minutes and later brown it on a skillet with less oil (one or two tsp, just enough to provide the fried look).