Popcorn Fish

 Frozen fish fillets is the best boneless fish I can find here in Islamabad, I was being asked to make some sort of fish by my sister and father time and again, so finally after Ramadan was over I decided to have a go at making it. By now you must be wondering why it’s called popcorn fish….. may be due the small size of cubes.. Well I didn’t know what else to call it. One more thing that makes this fish special is the use of panko bread crumbs, and I am glad I did, the final result was crisper, crunchier and less greasy coating. If you do not have panko on hand, you can certainly substitute bread crumbs, but your toppings won’t be as crisp and any recipe you use them in will have a somewhat heavier texture…

Ingredients:

500 gm boneless fish

1 tsp salt

1 tsp red chili powder

½ tsp black pepper powder

½ tsp cumin powder

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp ginger powder

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 egg beaten (with 1/3 cup of milk)

½ cup flour (add ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp red chili powder in it and mix)

Panko bread crumbs

Method:

1) Marinate the fish cubes with salt, red chili powder, cumin powder, black pepper powder, ginger garlic powder and lemon juice.

 2) Now have the flour, whisked egg and bread crumbs ready in 3 different plates. Take one fish cube at a time, first roll the fish cubes in flour then coat it with egg and next roll them in bread crumb and then put them on a tray, (for panko bread crumbes I found it much easier to spary the bread crumbs with spry bottle to make sure they stick nicely to fish pieces)

Next put then tray in fridge for 15-20 minutes. Heat oil in a deep heavy based frying pan or a wok until a bread crumb sizzles and turn brown when dropped in it. Add the fish cubes in and fry for 5-6 minutes or until they turn golden brown and crisp (turning occasionally)

3) Remember to fry the fish cubes in batches, don’t over load the pan. Removes the fish with a slotted spoon and drain it on kitchen paper. Serve it with potatoe chips, ketchup and mayonnaise (or tartar sauce).

  

Note: An easy way to check if the fish is ready is to flake it with a fork, if it flakes easily it means it’s done. If you want to fry fish in pan then let it fry on medium heat until lightly browned, flip over and fry the other side till done.

Lahori Fried Fish

A great way to enjoy fish of any sort, deep fried fish fillets coated with a combination of spices and gram flour..

Ingredients:

½ kg fish fillets

3 tbsp lemon Juice (or vinegar)

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp anardana (optional)

1 tsp red chili flakes

½ tsp Ajwain

1 tsp dry roasted, crushed Cumin seeds

1 tsp dry roasted, crushed Coriander seeds

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp qasoori methi

Few drops of yellow food color (optional)

4 tbsp gram flour /baisan or a little more for coating each fillet lightly

Chaat Masala

Method:

1) To remove the smell from fish, apply lemon juice and salt over your fish fillets and then rinse after 30 minutes. Clean the fish fillets and gently pat them dry. This is very important; the fish should not be watery at all.

2) Mix together all the masala except gram flour and chaat masala and apply it all over the fish pieces, let the fish marinate for 4-5 hours.

3) Once the marination is over, apply baisan, and shake off thee excess, remember we don’t need to add any water to gram flour (baisan)

 4) Heat oil in a heavy based frying pan and shallow fry the fish pieces, don’t move the fillets a lot while frying, otherwise the light coating will come off .Once fried sprinkle chaat masala on top. Serve hot with imli ki chutney/ mint chutney and naans. 

Fish Tikka Masala

Baked or grilled  fish chunks in a spicy and creamy masala sauce. Cooked fish tikka masala by using my own idea and it turned out the be utterly delicious, the part where I gave the coal smoke made this dish extremely delicious. For all fish lovers out there, this recipe is highly recommend by me. A spacial treat for your taste buds... 

Ingredients:

For Marinade:

½ kg boneless fish cubes

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp salt

1 ½ tsp red chili powder

1 tsp cumin seeds (roasted and crushed)

½ tsp coriander seeds (roasted and crushed)

2 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar

4 tbsp strained yogurt

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 pinch of  tandoori food colour

¼ tsp garam masala powder

2 tbsp oil

For Sauce:

2 medium Onions roughly chopped

1&1/2 tsp crushes Ginger

1&2 tsp crushed garlic

1 tsp red chili powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

3 large tomatoes roughly chopped

1/2 cup yogurt

1 tsp crushed cumin seeds

1/2 tsp Black pepper powder

3-4 green chilies (minced)

1/4-1/2 cup Cream

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1/3 cup oil+2tbsp ghee (or butter)

1/2 tsp salt

a small piece of coal

Method:

1) Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and marinate the fish cubes, let it rest for an hour at least. Preheat the oven to 220 C.  Bake the fish for 10-15 minutes or until fish flakes, turning once or twice. You can also grill the fish cubes in a grill pan. 

2) Take a pan and boil tomatoes, onion and  ginger garlic along with 3 cups of water  until tomatoes and onion are fully tender, and you are left with 1/2 cup water, turn off the heat and let it cool down for some,  Blend it in a blender

3) Put oil and ghee in a large pan. Add the blended sauce in along with haldi, red chili powder, cumin seeds and fry till the raw smell of masala has gone, (adding a few splashes of water when needed) 

4) Next add 1/2 cup of yogurt, black pepper powder, chopped green chilies and salt, mix every thing together,  let it simmer for 10 minutes. 

5)  Add in the  cream, coriander powder and garam masala powder, give it a good stir, let it simmer for 5 more minutes.

6) Add the fish pieces to the sauce, simmer for five minutes and turn off the heat.

7) Put the coal over medium flame, wait until the coal is fully red and is covered by white ash. Put a small piece of aluminium foil in middle of the fish pieces. Place the burned coal over it and put 2-3 drops of oil on it. Seal the lid so that the smoke does not escape, keep aside for 5 minutes. 

6) Take the piece of coal out  dish out the fish tikka gravy in a serving dish and garnish it with freshly chopped coriander. It goes well boiled rice, naans or even parathas. 

Note:

If the sauce is too thick add 1/2 cup milk to it.

Hara Masala Fish Curry

An utterly delicious and easy to make cilantro based fish curry. Only a few ingredients are needed to make this curry and it hardly takes 10 minutes to get ready.

Ingredients:

1 kg boneless fish (cut in to 2 inch pieces)

1 tbsp Ginger garlic paste

1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped (1 cup)

1/2 cup mint leaves

5-6 green chilies

5-6 cloves garlic

1&1/2 tbsp desiccated coconut

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 cup yogurt

1 large capsicum

6-7 almonds or cashew nuts

1 tsp cumin seeds

3/4 cup oil

1 large onion finely chopped

1&1/2 tsp crushed black pepper

Method:

1) Rub 1 tbsp of Ginger garlic paste on fish pieces and let it marinate for 15 minutes.

2) Add chopped fresh coriander, green chilies, lemon juice, salt, mint leaves, desiccated coconut, capsicum and yogurt in a blender and blend it coarsely.

3) Make a paste of cashew nuts.

4) Heat oil in pan, add in the cumin seeds, when they start to splutter add in the onions and fry them lightly.

5) Next add in fish pieces and fry it on high heat for 2-3 minutes.

6) Add in the green paste along with cashew nuts paste and crushed black pepper. Stir it gently, cover then pan and let it cook on medium-low flame for 5 minutes.

7) After 5 minutes turn the flame off. Serve it hot with naan or boiled rice.  

Fish Tikka Bites

Fish tikka is a popular dish among food lovers,  boneless fish is marinated in a spicy sauce and barbecued to perfection on charcoal...

 Ingredients:

½ kg boneless fish cubes

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp salt

1 ½ tsp red chili powder

1 tsp cumin seeds (roasted and crushed)

½ tsp coriander seeds (roasted and crushed)

2 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar

2 tbsp yogurt
1 tsp chaat masala powder

1 pinch of  tandori food color

¼ tsp garam masala powder

2 tbsp oil

Method:

1) Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and marinate the fish cubes,  leave it to marinate for 3-4 hours. 

2) you can Grill/barbecue over charcoal. Once done serve with salad, green raita and naan

3) If you want you can bake them in oven too, take a small piece of coal.  Put the coal over medium flame, wait until the coal is fully red and is covered by white ash. Put a small piece of aluminum foil in middle of the fish pieces. Place the burned coal over it and put 2-3 drops of oil on it. Seal the lid so that the smoke does not escape, let the fish marinate for at least an hour

4) Preheat the oven to 220 C, put the fish pieces on skewers  bake for 10-15 minutes or until fish flakes turning once or twice. 

Fish Bolognese

Spaghetti Bolognese is a real classic pasta dish and I am a huge fan of spaghetti bolognese too, the idea of making "Fish Bolognese" was given to me by my brother living in Belgium, so I decided to give it a go, and it turned out quite delicious, I didn’t follow any particular recipe, just followed the same bolognaise sauce I  normally make....

 Ingredients:

 200 gm pasta

250 gm fish fillets cut in to one inch chunks (you can use canned tuna as well)

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes with juice

2 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 cup water or chicken broth

¼ teaspoons oregano

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

½ tsp crushed black pepper

3 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 medium capsicum chopped

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 teaspoon sea salt

Grated cheddar or parmesan cheese (optional)

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add in the onions and garlic, fry till onions get translucent, add in the mushrooms and capsicum and fry for a couple of minutes. Add tomatoes, ketchup, oregano, salt, pepper, and red chili flakes  and simmer over low hear for about 20 minutes; add the fish chunks to the sauce (or just drain and add the tuna if using tuna can). Bring back to a simmer and continue simmering until the fish is just done, break the fish into small pieces with a spoon. Mean while cook the pasta according to packet instruction. Add the drained pasta and toss with the sauce, serve it hot (topped with grated cheese if you like).

Filet-O-Fish Sandwich

If you like the taste of McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwich just like I do then why not try making it at home. It's simple and easy to make and will definitely save you lots of money too...

  Ingredients:

 4 cod fish filet, (4x4 inch square pieces)

1/2 tsp Black pepper

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp mustard powder

Vinegar 4 tbsp

4 tbsp all purpose Flour

4 Cheese slice

4 Burger buns

Chilled cooled water

Bread crumbs as required

French fries for serving

Tarter sauce

Method:

Add 4 tbsp of all purpose flour, freshly ground black pepper, salt, mustard powder, and vinegar. Coat all the fish fillets with the marinade, and let it marinate for 20 minutes, Put bread crumbs on a plate, take one piece of fish at a time, coat it nicely with the bread crumbs. If you have time then let it rest for 15 minutes in the refrigerator.

Heat oil in a wok or a deep fryer, add one to two pieces of fish at a time and fry for 6-7 minutes or until they turn golden brown and crisp (turning occasionally). Removes the fish with a slotted spoon and drain it on kitchen paper. You can also bake the fish if you would like.  To bake the fish, place the flour-coated fish pieces on a greased baking sheet.  Bake the fish at 375 degrees for 5 minutes.  Flip the pieces and continue baking them for 5 minutes or until the fish flakes and is done.

To assemble, slightly toast the burger buns in a frying pan or skillet or in a toaster, Spread some tarter sauce on the buns, place the fried fish fillet on the top of the bun followed by a cheese slice (you can also add some lettuce if you like to), serve it with fried potato chips.

 For Tarter Sauce:

Ingredients

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp minced dill pickle

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp minced onion

salt to season

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Fish Fingers

Fish fingers are something I loved as a young girl, I am not a big fan of fish, and we don’t get a lot of variety in fish available in Pakistan. Most of the fish you can find is with bones and I personally don’t like the fishy with bones (I know it has a lot more flavor). A few supermarkets have now started to sell frozen fish fillets though. Anyways coming to the recipe, there are many ways you can make fish finger, the one I am sharing with you is quite easy to prepare and turns out delicious too…

Ingredients:

250 gm thick skinless fish fillet (you can use cod or any other white fish available, cut in to thick strips)

¼ to 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

1/4 tsp black pepper powder

¼ tsp red chili powder

¼ tsp garlic powder

1-2 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar

1 tbsp of corn flour

1tbsp of all purpose flour (APF*)

¼ tsp mustard powder (optional)

Bread crumbs (as required, almost 250gm)

Oil for frying

Method:

 1) Marinate the fish with salt, pepper, red chili powder, garlic powder, lemon juice (or vinegar), corn flour, APF and mustarded powder, mix it all and put the fish in refrigerator  for at least 30 minutes.

2) Put bread crumbs on a plate, take one strip of fish at a time and coat it nicely with the bread crumbs. If you have time then let it rest for 15 minutes in the  refrigerator.

3) Heat oil in a deep heavy based frying pan or a wok until a bread crumb sizzles and turn brown when dropped in it. Add the fish fingers in and fry for 5-6 minutes or until they turn golden brown and crisp (turning occasionally)

4) Remember to fry the fish fingers in batches, don’t over load the pan. Removes the fish with a slotted spoon and drain it on kitchen paper. Serve it with potatoe chips, ketchup and mayonnaise (or tartar sauce).

  

Note: An easy way to check if the fish is ready is to flake it with a fork, if it flakes easily it means it’s done. If you want to fry fish in pan then let it fry on medium heat until lightly browned, flip over and fry the other side till done.