(Lima) Beans and Delhi Cha(a)t

A Little Fishful Indulgence

Here in New Delhi, we don’t get to see all the four seasons as clearly as perhaps in some other parts of the world. However, two seasons are most pronounced here, and are felt to the extreme: summer and winter. Although I was born in the middle of scorching Delhi summer, I dread the heat around that time. A winter in Delhi however, is a different story. I enjoy this season a lot. For all the chill and biting cold wave it brings, it also offers a lot of sunshine, opportunities for spending time outdoors (you can’t even imagine doing that in the volcanic Delhi summer), and…and…ha, you guessed it—loads of good food.

So when I saw the theme for the From My Rasoi event hosted by Meena of Hooked on Heat was Winter, I knew I had chanced upon a very valid reason to become a sinful foodie. Thanks, Meena!

What I came up with for the event is made of something I religiously love eating—fish. This incredibly tasty snack is called Fish Chop and is something of a specialty in Calcutta (now Kolkata). Chop is basically an oval-shaped deep fried snack, the outer layer of which has potato, and the inner layer or stuffing can have anything—fish, meat, or vegetables. The one we make today has a fish filling sure to get the taste buds of all fish lovers tickling. So without further ado, let’s get cooking!



Fish Chop:

Ingredients:

The Outer Layer (Cover):

Potatoes: 4-6 medium (boiled)
Bread: 4-5 slices
Salt: To taste
Pepper: To taste
Eggs: 3-4 (beaten)
Bread Crumbs

The Inner Layer (Filling):

Fish: 500 gms (Sea fish, with only a spine works the best. Try Bhetki or Pomfret)
Onion: 2 medium
Garlic: 8-10 cloves
Ginger: Small block
Green chilli: 4-5
(Grind the above four ingredients into a paste)
Tomato Puree: 1 Tablespoon
Garam Masala Powder: 1 teaspoon

Method:

1. Mash the boiled potatoes. Dip the bread slices in milk and mix with the mashed potatoes. Add salt and pepper and knead into a dough. Keep aside.
2. Boil the de-scaled fish. De-skin and remove the bones. Mash it nicely.
3. Heat oil in a skillet. Put the ginger-garlic-onion-chili paste and fry until it turns colour a bit. Add some salt, tomato puree, garam masala powder and mix well. Fry for a few more minutes.
4. Now add the mashed fish into this spice mix and cook nicely, stirring until the oil starts separating. Keep stirring to prevent the fish from sticking to the bottom of the skillet.
5. When the fish mixture turns dry, turn off the heat. Your filling is ready.
6. Take a small ball-sized portion of the potato dough in your palms, press and make a cavity.
7. Fill in the cavity with the fish filling and close the ends of the dough.
8. Give it an oval shape using your hands.
9. Dip the chop into the beaten eggs and roll it over the bread crumbs.
10. Deep fry the chop.
11. Garnish with tomato and onion rings.
12. Serve hot!

Mmmm…simply impossible to resist. Just typing out the recipe makes me crave a couple of chops. Lol, I did say it had some sinful connotations to it. But then that’s what winter is all about—living it up with sinfully tasteful food!

This then is my contribution to From My Rasoi this month. Freshly fried fish chops with a cup of adrak chai (ginger tea).



Can you possibly resist that? :P

Sury

posted by Sury at 3:58 PM