Amritsari fish fry

Before you start

• oil for deep frying

Ingredients

Serves 2 · dimmer marks are storecupboard

• 350gfirm white fish — river fish traditionally — sole, tilapia or cod all work
• 80ggram flour — besan
• 2½ tbspoil for frying
• 2 tbspnatural yoghurt
• 1 thumbginger and garlic
• 1 tspajwain
• 2 tspkashmiri chilli and salt
• 1lemon
• 1 tspchaat masala

Method

5 steps

1. chop · 6m

   Fish into pieces about the size of a matchbox, then patted properly dry on both sides.

2. fold · 6m

   Gram flour, yoghurt, ginger-garlic, ajwain, chilli and salt worked into a paste thick enough to sit on a spoon, and the fish turned through it.

3. rest · 30m walk away

   Half an hour in the fridge. The batter grips the fish in that time; battered and fried immediately it slides straight off in the oil.

4. fry · 16m

   Into medium-hot oil a few pieces at a time so the temperature does not crash. Turned once, and given long enough that the fish is opaque and flakes under a fork — the crust colours well before the middle is done, which is the trap in this dish. Pan a third full, and never moved while hot.

5. finish · 3m

   Drained on a rack rather than paper so the underside stays crisp, then chaat masala and lemon from a height.