Anchovies Fish Fry

It was only quite recently that I decided to give the local fish retailer a visit. Now I am dragged to the place every alternate week to find my selection of fish. I actually feel upbeat every time I go shopping for fish as it doubles for my walking exercise as well. All thanks to a friend from our apartment, for persuading me enough to check out the place. Being a native of Kerala, Fish is almost an integral part of our daily diet. 

Fish has always been a good source of Omega 3 fatty acid, Proteins and Calcium (if one could manage to eat the bones of some kinds of fish). Mackrel, Seer fish and other larger fishes are regulars at many home in the cities since they are chopped and cleaned from the super market or the retailers itself. But did you know that the smaller fishes are the tastier of the bunch? They come with a drawback, however, they are not cleaned by the seller considering the time and effort.

Anchovies have been a recent craving for me, thanks to my stay at Mangalore for five long years. After moving to Bangalore, I have never managed to find them. I haven't tried making it before but the craving just got the better of me. Thankfully the local seller had them and nothing could hold me back, even the thought of cleaning 1 kg of these small fishes!

So enough with the background story, let’s get to business…

Ingredients

Anchovies 250 gms

Red chilli powder 1.5 tsps - Adjust according to your needs

Turmeric powder   1/4 tsp

Coriander powder  1 tsp

Salt - Adjust to your need

Oil - 1.5 tsp

My Way of Making

1. Cut and clean the fish. If you are not sure check this page on cleaning anchovies. 

2. Make a paste of the powders mentioned along with salt.

3. Marinate the fish with the paste and set aside for one to two hours atleast.

4. Heat the oil in a tava or non-stick pan just enough to coat the base of the pan similar to tavafry rather than deep fry

5. Spread the marinated fish and fry them on a medium flame till one side turns brown.

6. Turn the sides of the fish slowly so as to not break the flesh away from the bone.

7. Serve hot

Note

1. Marinade can be done from ginger-garlic paste, pepper powder or shallots as well. This time I chose the simple mix because AR  likes it this way and we were bored with the usual taste of ginger-garlic. One could also use Sooji, Maida (all-purpose flour) or egg to give the fish a coating before frying.

2. You could season them with onions and curry leaves and coconut pieces (thenga kothu) that are sauted .

3. This fish must be served hot so plan your fry just before meal time.

4. These are known by different names throughout Kerala, like Veluri, Netholli, Uzhuva.