Lahori Fried Fish

Lahori fried fish is a winter specialty of Lahore, Punjab's culinary capital, sold from street stalls and served as a starter in restaurants. The fish (usually river sole or pangash) is marinated in ginger-garlic paste, then coated in a batter of besan (gram flour), rice flour, carom seeds, cumin, red chili and salt, and deep-fried until the crust is golden and shatteringly crisp. The use of besan instead of wheat flour gives a crunchier, more flavourful crust, and the rice flour adds extra crispness. Eaten with a squeeze of lemon, a sprinkle of chaat masala, and green chutney, it is the cold-weather street food of Lahore, made when the winter fish are at their best.

Shatteringly crisp golden crust giving way to moist, flaky fish, the batter spiced with carom and cumin, the lemon and chaat masala bright on top. Each piece is a hot, crunchy, fragrant bite that demands another.

The technique is a spiced besan batter, deep-fried. The fish is marinated in ginger-garlic paste and lemon for 30 minutes. The batter is besan mixed with rice flour (for extra crispness), carom seeds (ajwain, for digestion and flavour), cumin, red chili, turmeric and salt, whisked with water to a thick coating consistency. The fish pieces are dipped, excess batter allowed to drip off, and deep-fried at 175 degrees C for 4 to 5 minutes until golden and crisp. The besan-rice flour combination gives a crust that stays crisp longer than wheat flour. The oil must be at the right temperature: too cool and the batter absorbs oil, too hot and the outside burns before the fish cooks through.