Rava fish fry is a shallow fried fish recipe with a beautiful crispy golden crust and juicy flesh inside. The fish is marinated in a spicy masala paste & coated with semolina. It’s a quick weekday meal because cooking fish fillet on stove takes less than 10 minutes.
This recipe would taste much better with pomfret fish but I have used tilapia. Tilapia almost has no flavor of its own making it as a blank slate. Hence it works perfectly well with the spicy garlicky marinade. Tilapia being lean in nature is quick to cook but it can be easily torn fish apart while cooking. Read the blog post to know how to perfectly cook tilapia without tearing it.
Ingredients :
To make this rava fish you will need :
- Fish Fillet: I have used tilapia but here are other alternatives, pomfret, catfish, striped bass, red snapper or rainbow trout.
- Garlic: Since tilapia almost has no flavor of its own adding fresh garlic to the marinade amps up its taste.
- Red Chilli powder: I use Brilliant Red , Fine Ground Chili Powder from Everest brand as it gives an amazing color not making the recipe very spicy.
- Lime Juice: Marinating fish in lime juice helps in getting rid of nasty fish smell & taste. In addition, acid in lime is capable of breaking down the proteins in seafood, aiding in digestion. Alternatively, you can use lemon juice or white wine vinegar
- Tamarind: The sour- sweet sharpness of tamarind contrasts the spices in the chutney. It also adds distinct flavor to the marinade. Alternatively, you can use rice vinegar.
- Rava (Semolina): I prefer using fine semolina for this recipe. However, if you have coarse variety use a blender or spice grinder to get it to the consistency of fine semolina.
- Coconut oil: I love to use unrefined Coconut oil as it renders coconut flavor to the fish. If you don’t like coconut flavor feel free to use refined coconut oil, olive oil, sunflower oil or butter.
How to cook rava fish fry in a pan-perfectly
- Use a heavy duty skillet like a cast iron skillet or a heavy non stick fry pan. It heats better and more evenly, giving fish a beautiful golden crust.
- Thaw and Pat down: I used frozen tilapia. Thawed fish cooks irregularly since most parts get more frozen than others. So make sure to let it sit in the fridge for a day prior to cooking. Pat it down with paper towel to avoid sticking on flat top. Key to the crispier surface is a dry fish.
- Heat the pan before adding oil: To get a great golden crust you need to get your pan hot first before adding even the oil and especially food.
- Frying delicately: Fish is delicate meat, so do not move it until it releases naturally as the surface is seared and golden.
- Coating: A generous coating of semolina helps keep the fish intact during frying. Make sure you shake off the excess semolina before frying as too much of it may make the crispy crust fall apart.
Here are some more shallow fried recipes