In Kerala, a non-vegetarian home usually has some form of fish at the table every single day. The fish is bought fresh from a passing man/woman with a basket of fish over his or her shoulder. I am sure I have mentioned him before but our fish man was called English Mathukkutty. He only spoke in English (which, as you may know, is not common in day to day Kerala life) and would describe his fish as still “jumping” and “shivering” because they are so fresh and just out of the water. In our home, since we were meant to be vegetarians but got “corrupt” along the way, Amma bought fish only 2-3 times a month. So it was always a special meal when there’s fish and while there was so many different ways you can prepare fish, the fried kind is always the most popular. Typically, we would buy a few pieces, marinate them, and leave a piece per person out for frying that day and freeze the remaining. This would give my mom respite on days she gets busy with work (she’s a businesswoman and is always doing multiple things at the same time) or didn’t feel much like cooking. Fried fish is popular throughout India but the marinade recipe would change quite a bit. Apart from this Kerala-style fish fry, I also love Chettinad fish fry but that’s a recipe for another day. Love fish? You can browse all fish recipes here or check out my favourites below: Fish curry with coconut milk Fried anchovies recipe Kerala-style prawn roast Bengali fish fry Fish moilee Step by step pictures to make Kerala fish fry: Cut and clean the fish. Grind or mix together the ingredients for marinade and generously slather the fish pieces in it with your fingertips Cover and set aside until ready to fry. You can leave it for 30 minutes or refrigerate overnight. When ready to fry, heat oil in a pan for shallow frying. The quantity of oil will depend on the size of your pan. Gently lower the fish pieces into the heated oil Keep covered and cook on medium heat until the first side is a dark golden brown. Gently flip over to fry the other side Cook the other side until done. Adjust the frying time to your preference. If you fry longer, the fish will turn crisp and darker whereas removing it when both sides are about done and fried, the outside will be done and the inside will be softly cooked. At home, we usually prefer the latter. That’s it! Kerala fish fry is ready to be served with some sliced onions, rice, and curry. For fish fry recipe in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Hindi, Urdu, Malay, etc please use the Google translate button in the sidebar.
