Monday, April 12, 2010

Anchovy fish fry

If you are a great fan of sea food and belong to Chennai, then you won't need an introduction to this crispy starter, the deep fried anchovies (Nethili meen varuval). In Chennai (Madras), India the restaurants like Madurai Appu, Ponnusamy,Velu military hotel,Pandyas, Anjappar (the list goes on....)are known for their exotic non-veg menus. So don't miss a plate of these crispy anchovies if you get a chance.

I have seen some restaurants serving the full anchovy (with head , tail and small fins too) removing the tract. Believe me this kind will taste great. But I have to remove most of the parts because of my Xav:) He hates fish head and I love it ...weird huh:)So if you are like me, then use the whole fish.

Mostly I prefer non vegetarian buffets while visiting my favorite Indian restaurants. The power of the Indian starters like tandoori chicken , kebab, fish fry will be such that one cannot get satisfied with a single selection of starter:)
I know many of you are like me and so here is an attractive dish to satisfy our palates:)


Anchovy fish deep fried.

Ingredients:
Anchovy fish (nethili meen)- 1 lb
(1 kg will approximately yield 80 big size anchovies)
Salt - to taste (1 1/2 tsp)
Red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
cumin powder - 1tsp
coriander powder - 1tbsp
lemon juice / vinegar - 2 tbsp
rice flour - 2 tbsp (for crispiness)
Red food color - 1/10 tsp (optional)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Oil to deep fry - 200 ml

How to clean anchovy fish?
Wash and clean the anchovies to remove any sand or impurities. Rinse it in large amount of water thrice to remove the sand, if bought fresh.

Then remove or retain the head as per taste. (If you are frying them, then the head will taste great). Cut and remove the tail. Slit gently in the boneless side to remove the (greenish) digestive tract.

Again rinse once. Apply 1 tsp turmeric powder and keep aside.

The anchovies are ready for cooking now.

Method:
Add all the powders, salt, food color, lemon juice and mix well.
Mix this with the cleaned anchovies and marinate for an hour.
We can fry them immediately also.

Heat oil in a pan.
Deep fry the fishes in small batches till crispy.
Anchovy fish fry is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as starter or side dish with rasam / sambar / fish curry in rice.

20 comments:

Gita Jaishankar said...

Nice fish fry dear...I too love nethili meen fry...I can have this fish in anything :)

Sunitha said...

I love this one too.. We call it uzhuval and natholi in Kerala.

Saraswathy Balakrishnan said...

wow..i prepare blue anchovy chill fry few days ago and ur looks so yummy that I want to grab ur plate and enjoy myself with lemon rice that's made for lunch today:)

Sailaja Damodaran said...

This is my favorite......

gtyuk said...

Hello Vicky,
nethili meen varuval looks nice crispy, perfectly browned and I just have to come over there to relish it :-)

pondy-ilum restaurants-la idhu kidaikkum!!! ungala meri dhaan naanum, Indian restaurants-kku ponaa, rendu moonu starters yenakku ondi order panradhukku vekkamaa irukkum, hehehe
indha meri items paathaa, yedhayum vittukka manssu varaadhu!!!

you've made me crave for these delicious crispies now, miam, miam!!!

I love to keep the heads too, they add nice crunchiness !!! you have done it exactly like we do, except that rice flour!! that's a nice addition for crispiness! I love it!!!

Hamaree Rasoi said...

Anchonvies look very nicely made. Loved the clicks you have posted.

Hamaree Rasoi

Priya Suresh said...

Slurppp!!am drooling rite now here..wat a tempting fish fry..

Manju said...

Ive seen this being very popular in Kerala too. Thanks for putting up the steps as to how to clean the fish. Im a vegetarian who cooks meat and fish for my husband - so these tips do come in handy :)

Malar Gandhi said...

I simply love this nethili varuval...nothing can beat the taste of this dish.:)

VineelaSiva said...

Wow the fish looks very inviting.I too love the fish head.Will u please tell what we call this fiah telugu.

Shama Nagarajan said...

delicious fish fry...

Ash said...

Oh! I love this fish & this prep... It is one lip smacking prep.... & a quickie to be consumed too... U make them & they disappear..... Lovely crispy perfect captures too... Very tempting....

Ash...
(http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/)

Vikis Kitchen said...

Thank you friends:)
Vineela: The Telugu name for anchovy is 'Poravallu'. Hope it is correct:)

Namitha said...

am drooling...one of our favs..

Devasena Hariharan said...

Hi Viki.. i had stayed away from blogs for quite sometime and intend to do so, dear..

really mouth watering fish

Cham said...

Varain Vittuku varain Vicky, MY gosh been age i had nettily varruval , even last year, i was in India somehow i skipped :(

Siddhi Shirsat said...

wow viki nice fish fry...very crispy n yummy

Nandinis food said...

Wow! I love nethili! I'll gobble this up with rasam saadam! This is so lovely! Yummy!

Suparna said...

wow viki,
u are tempting a lot of them I see ;)ur authentic dishes are too good
TC

Suja Manoj said...

Wow this looks great..
brought anchovy yesterday thinking of making a different recipe..but when i see yours.. could not resist the temptation of making anchovy fish fry..going to try this today for dinner:)

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