Fish Fry with Red Hamour

I’ve been pretty lame this week, I know. My apologies. I’ll put in more efforts. Soon, I promise.

With that annotation, let me go straight to the recipe.

Fish fry recipes are as varied as the cuisine of a region to the cooks who make them. This recipe is quick, easy and very delicious. It can be made with any fleshy white whole fish or even fish fillets. I used whole baby hamour and it tasted awesome. The key is to fry with a generous amount of curry leaves.

Fish Fry with Red Hamour

Ingredients

500g whole hamour (2 baby hamours), scaled and dressed

2 teaspoon kashmiri chili powder

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste

1 teaspoon dry chili flakes

1 teaspoon oil, plus more for shallow frying

2 tablespoon lemon juice

salt, to taste

water, as needed

handful curry leaves

Directions

Rinse the fish with lemon juice and water; pat dry. Make horizontal gashed on both sides and set aside.

Crush peppercorns to a fine powder in a coffee grinder; transfer to a small bowl. Tip in chili powder, turmeric, chili flakes, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon oil, and then combine well with a bit of water to form a thick, smooth paste. Season.

Coat both sides of the fish with this mixture, massaging some marinade into the stomach cavity as well. Let sit, at room temperature, for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to set in. Store any remaining marinade, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

In a large non-stick frying pan, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add half of the curry leaves and place fish over it, then sprinkle the rest of the curry leaves over the top. Shallow fry for about 4 minutes each side or until cooked through and the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve with a squeeze of lemon.