Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Promfret Fry


Ask about my favourite fish & I would call it Promfret & I like them fried crisp. I am not much crazy about them in gravies. Fried frish with dal & rice was often a great & comforting meal at our home. Occassionally, my mother would stuff promfrets with green masala or ground shrimps & then fry them.
Promfrets are not available everywhere in the US. You would only find them at local chinese markets. Last week, I was lucky to find a chinese market on my trip to Jersey. So not looking for a second chance, I just hopped into the market & bought 2 beautiful large sized promfrets. I just could'nt wait to get back home & fry it up.

So here it is, fried all crisp..

1 medium to large sized promfret, cleaned well by removing all the internal inedible stuff
3 - 4 tbsp rava (semolina)
2 - 3 tbsp oil, for frying
1 lemon, cut into wedges

For Marinate :

1 tsp tandoori masala powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp corainder powder
salt, to taste
3 cloves garlic, ground to a paste
1/2 inch ginger piece, ground to a paste
1 tbsp vinegar

Wash the promfret well. Make gashes on both sides of the promfret for the marinade to seep in.

In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients for the marinade. Apply marinade to the promfret, rubbing well into the gashes & inside the promfret. Set aside to marinate in the refrigerator for atleast an hour.

Heat a heavy bottomed pan on medium flame. Pour oil into the hot pan.

Coat the promfret with semolina (rava) & place it on the hot pan. Let it fry undisturbed on medium flame for 10 minutes. Flip & turn over the promfret on the other side. Let it fry for 10 minutes more.

Serve hot with lemon wedges.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pomfret is one of my favorites too. That one looks really good. Coating with
rava is new for me. It seems like it helps to make it more crunchy. One of my other favorite fishes is catfish. It is good fried and also with gravy.

Tina Jennifer D'Silva said...

Hey Gini.. Rava does help make the crust more crunchy. We use rava to coat even cutlets.

My mom loves catfish & she makes a traditional mangalorean curry with catfish.

Anonymous said...

hmmmm..mouth watring fish fry..Pomfret is not available where I live..so sad,huh?

Tina Jennifer D'Silva said...

Hey Annita... U shd look out for chinese markets.

You could also follow this recipe for tilapia...

Unknown said...

WOW!!!!!!!!! I'm gonna faint. I miss fried pomfet sooooo much.

Tanuja said...

Hi Tina,

Promphet fry looks yummy,I never tried here I should give a try.Thanks for sharing yummy dish.

Tina Jennifer D'Silva said...

Hey Pushpa... I miss promfret too.. Get it just once or twice a year as I have to travel all the way to Jersey..

Hey Tanuja... Do let me know how it comes out at your end. You will find them at the chinese markets...

Anonymous said...

Tina, the masala is very new to me. I get the pomfret here in Chinese stores, just try searching for them in nearby china markets. I will try your dish this weekend :). thanks for sharing.

Tina Jennifer D'Silva said...

Hey Shilpa... do let me know how it turns out at ur end..

Tina Jennifer D'Silva said...

Hey Rhea... I'm so happy that you liked the promfret fry. What happened to the kokum saar? Where did it go wrong? Sometimes, the quality of the kokum also matters. So just check out on that too..

Tina Jennifer D'Silva said...

Exactly Rhea... the kokum from mangalore is soft & clean, whereas the kokum from bombay is too hard & its got some powdery substance on it, the makes the water look muddy instead of red. I too had made a blunder when using the Bombay kokum. Better luck next time.

Kavitha said...

hi Tina
The fish looks soooo yummy.
I have never cooked pomfret before. They have frozen whole pomfrets in our indian store. Any suggestions of how to cook with that? If i need to use fresh then i have to drive to the chinese markets.
I am adding you to my blogroll. Hope you dont mind.

Tina Jennifer D'Silva said...

Welcome to my blog, Spicelover... & thanx for adding me in your blogroll.

I have never tried using a frozen promfret. Why dont u try thawing it & then following the same recipe. I am sure that should work fine. Usually, I freeze my seafood & thaw it once it is ready to cook. So it is the same process.

Do let me know abt it....

Anonymous said...

hey guys i am new to edison NJ and i am in search for promfret. Can u let me know where will i find it