Spicy battered fish fillets

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I recently made Spicy battered fish balls on skewers in which I used basa to adapt Pat Chapman's "Kinga Nishat" recipe from 250 Favourite Curries and Accompaniments - 1992. ISBN 0-7499-1185-9. It was incredibly tasty but on reflection, cutting the basa into small chunks, frying separately and then placing on skewers seemed rather involved and pointless.

This time I used the spicy batter to coat the whole fillets and then shallow fried them. The result was fantastic, the batter sticking really well to the fish. Do try this, it is a rather special recipe!

Basa is an excellent firm and flavoursome fish that is also sustainable.

Ingredients

• 1 packs basa fillets (about 320 g) [£2.00 Morrisons - May 2011]
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon freshly Crushed garlic
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated root ginger
• 1 egg - beaten
• 2 tablespoons single cream, sour cream, yoghurt or even milk
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of gram flour
• 1 teaspoon of whole lovage seeds
• ½ teaspoon of whole fennel seeds
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Method

1. Add the basa, garlic, ginger and lemon juice to a lock and lock box, close, shake well and refrigerate for 30 minutes or so to marinade.
2. Whisk the egg in another bowl and add the remaining ingredients, whisk to the consistency of thickish double cream. Adjust by adding more flour or cream.
3. Pour the egg mixture into the Lock and Lock box, close and shake like mad.
4. Refrigerate for a further 15 minutes or until you are ready to use it.
5. Shallow fry in ghee, butter or olive oil until the batter is golden and the fish is cooked. Try not to disturb it too much or the batter will come away from the fish.