Fish fry with steamed rice
Seer fish (surmai) steaks marinated in turmeric, chilli, ginger-garlic and lemon, pressed into rava and shallow-fried on the tawa until crisp, eaten with hot rice, onion rings and lemon, often with a dal. Pomfret, bangda or rohu work just as well; Bengali homes fry the fish with only turmeric and salt in mustard oil, and Kerala homes skip the rava and fry it in coconut oil with curry leaves.
- 45 minTime
- 30 minHands-on
- 4Portions
- 48 gprotein per portion
- 710kcal per portion
Ingredients for 4 portions
- 8 steaksSeer fish (surmai), about 1 cm thick
- 3 mlTurmeric
- 1 ½ tspRed chilli powder
- 1 tbspGinger-garlic paste
- 1Lemon (nimbu), juice
- to tasteSalt
- 6 tbspSooji (rava), for coating
- 4 tbspRefined oil, for shallow-frying
On the side
- 300 gRice, sona masoori or any everyday rice
- ≈ 800 mlWater, for the rice
- 1Onion, in thin rings
- 1Lemon (nimbu), in wedges
Method
- Rinse the fish steaks and pat them dry. Rub them all over with the turmeric, chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice and salt.
- Leave the fish to marinate for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, wash the rice two or three times until the water runs clear. Put it in the pressure cooker with the water and a pinch of salt.
- Pressure-cook the rice on medium heat for 2 whistles, about 8 minutes, then let the pressure drop by itself.
- Cut the onion into thin rings and the lemon into wedges.
- Spread the rava on a plate and press each fish steak into it on both sides.
- Heat the oil on a tawa or in a wide frying pan over medium heat. Fry the fish in batches, 3–4 minutes a side, until golden, crisp and cooked through.
- Serve the fish hot with the rice, onion rings and lemon wedges.
