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Ingredients

  • 600g white fish fillets or loins, cut into 4cm/1 1/2 in chunks (see tip)
  • vegetable oil, for frying
  • 1 ½ tsp chaat masala (see tip)

For the marinade

Method

  • STEP 1

    For the marinade, blend or pound the ginger, garlic, lemon juice, cumin, chilli powder, 1⁄2 tsp ground black pepper, 11⁄2 tbsp water and 2 tsp salt to a fine paste, then stir in the ajwain seeds. Place the fish in a non-metallic bowl, spoon over the marinade and toss well to coat. Leave to marinate in the fridge for 1 hr.

  • STEP 2

    Mix the rice flour and gram flour together. Sprinkle over the fish, thoroughly coating it, then set aside for 10 mins.

  • STEP 3

    Fill a wok or large saucepan with oil so that it comes between half and two-thirds of the way up the side, and heat to 190C – you could use a deep-fat fryer for this. Drop a few pieces of fish into the hot oil, but do not overcrowd the pan, and fry for 2-3 mins until golden brown. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain. Repeat with the remaining fish. Sprinkle over the chaat masala and serve immediately.

RECIPE TIPS
WHAT FISH?

This recipe works with many types of fish such as cod, pollack, haddock or hake. Cut thin fillets of fish such as plaice in quarter chunks, and cut loins into large chunks.

CHAAT MASALA

This spice mix is sprinkled over many sweet and savoury dishes in India. It has a sweet-and-sour taste and usually consists of cumin, coriander, ginger, chilli, dried mango powder, asafoetida, black pepper and black salt. It’s available from Asian food shops, larger Waitrose and Tesco stores, or at spicemountain.co.uk.

AJWAIN SEEDS

Also known as carom, this spice has a flavour like thyme, but more pungent with a slight bitterness. Find it in Asian food shops, larger Tesco stores or at spicemountain.co.uk.

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