Southern Indian Fried Fish Recipe

Southern Indian Fried Fish Recipe

(Meen Varuval Recipe)

800g fish fillets or cutlets

350ml oil for frying

20 curry leaves (optional)

Marinade:

40ml lemon juice

1 teaspoon ginger, finely chopped

1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped

3 teaspoons turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

Flour mixture:

150g rice flour

40g besan flour (gram flour)

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

Method:

Marinade the fish in the lemon, ginger, garlic, turmeric, and salt for 30 minutes.  Mix the rice and besan flours and to the mixture add the chili powder and salt.  If you are using curry leaves, strip the leaves from the stem and fry the leaves in hot oil until they are almost crisp.  Reserve for garnishing.  Heat the oil in a pan or griddle.  Dust the fish in the flour mixture, and shallow fry one side at a time.  When both sides are done, remove, set on a plate, and garnish with the curry leaves if you are using them.  “Varuval” indicates a fried dish, and “meen” is fish.  This fried fish dish hails from the Kerala coast, where it is traditionally prepared using seer fish.  Mackerel or kingfish would be just as good.