Laal Surmai fry

This is a recipe from Bangalore. All Bangalorean Muslims love to cook varieties of Non vegetarian food and one of the commonly made food includes, Surmai / King Fish Fry. As much as its a part of all da’awat or get together, it is made quiet often at homes, since it makes a perfect side dish with Dal Chawal.

I was introduced to this kind of fish after becoming an official member of The Parveezes. My father in law was a real foodie. May his soul rest in peace, he would travel an hour or two to get the best fish fry for the family. My husband, Mr. Parveez has loads of fond memories of various restaurants and places he went with his father as a kid and my boys are always happy listening to his childhood stories.

My Father in law was a friendly guy and he would make a little more effort with people who served good food, to get a hint of what all ingredients they use… its funny but I think that’s how all us foodies are. a close by market to that restaurant sold some masala in a packet that my Father in law started buying since it was recommended by the cook of the restaurant. Since then every time he went to buy the fish, he would get loads of packets of those masala so, we could mix up some lemon juice and ginger garlic paste with fish and fry them. The fish would be very similar in taste to that from the restaurant.

For the first few years after we got married, I would bring those masala packets from Bangalore and every now and then use them on special occasions only, since India trip was only once a year. Then one fine day, I thought of giving up using the masala packet and make my own, so we could enjoy the yummy fish more often. I wouldn’t say it was exactly same as to what we get from the restaurant, but very close and close enough for us to not crave the fish when we visited Bangalore.

Not just that, my late Father in law loved the fried fish I made with homemade masala and since then, there was no looking  back. This masala makes your King fish taste even better. Its an easy marination and makes a quick fish side dish that goes great with Sambhar and boiled Rice.

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Red Fish Fry
Fish marinated with spices and flour, deep fried.
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Rating: 0
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Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Passive Time 1 hour
Servings
people
Ingredients
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Passive Time 1 hour
Servings
people
Ingredients
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Clean, wash and pat dry the fish.
  2. Marinate the fish pieces with all the ingredients except Oil. Keep aside for 1 hour.
  3. Marinate the fish pieces. Cover and keep the marinated fish aside for 1-2 hours. It can also be kept refrigerated overnight.
  4. Heat Oil in a pan. Once the Oil heats up, add the curry leaves and deep fry the fish pieces.
  5. Serve hot with onions on the side.
Recipe Notes
  • Be careful when you add the curry leaves. They tend to splutter a lot and hot oil might burn your hand. So add them slowly and carefully.

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