Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Chilly Fish

I really didn't know whether I should call this Chilly Fish or Fish Manchurian. Finally I settled with Chilly Fish; whatever the name is, this is a lip smacking dish! You could follow this preparation with Chicken or even with some fleshy veggies. You could make this dry and serve as an appetizer or make this with gravy and use as a side for rotis or a rice preparation. I also love the dry version with Roti and rice. This dish is a feast for the eyes as well as for your stomach!



Serves 6-7 people

For the Fry
Fish- 1 lb
Corn Starch/Corn Flour- 3 tbsp
Ginger Garlic Paste- 1 tbsp
Chilly Powder- 1 tbsp
Salt- to taste
Water- 1/4 cup
Oil- as needed to shallow fry the fish
  1. Make a batter with the corn flour, chilly powder, ginger garlic paste, water and salt.
  2. Cut the fish into small cube sized pieces. Use any boneless fish. I used Tilapia fillets.
  3. Dip the fish pieces into the batter.
  4. Heat the oil and add the fish pieces to the hot oil and fry.
  5. It is ideal to fry the fish well/dark brown, which will help it keep its shape when adding to the gravy. Also it enhances the taste.
  6. Transfer the fried fish pieces to a plate lined with a paper kitchen tissue, to absorb any excess oil.
For the Gravy
Oil- 3 tbsp (left from frying)
Ginger- 2 big piece (0.10 lbs)
Garlic- 15 big cloves (0.10 lbs)
Green Chilly- 3 big (0.10 lbs)
Onion- 1 (0.75 lbs)
Tomato Sauce- 3 tbsp
Soya Sauce- 3 tbsp
Water- 1/2 cup
Coriander Leaves- handful for garnish (chopped)
Salt- to taste


  1. Heat a pan and add 3 tbsp of oil (used for frying the fish) to it. 
  2. When the oil starts to heat up, add the finely chopped ginger and garlic to it.  
  3. Saute the ginger and garlic until the raw smell is gone (for about a minute). 
  4. Add the finely chopped onions and a little salt and saute it well.  
  5. When the onions are almost translucent, add the chopped green chillies and saute for a minute. 
  6. Add the tomato sauce and soya sauce and mix well. 
  7. Add 1/2 cup water and mix well.  
  8. When the water just starts to boil, add the fried fish pieces and mix well to coat the sauces to the fish pieces.
  9. Adjust the salt, if needed and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. 
  10. Turn off the stove and leave the pan closed for at least 10-15 minutes for the fish to absorb the sauces and the taste to set in.
Note: - If you want a gravy version, you could add more water (around 1/2 cup) mixed with a little corn starch/corn flour (about 1 tsp). Make sure the corn starch is mixed well without any lumps.

This is an easy version of Chilly fish with just the basic ingredients. You could also add red bell peppers and spring onions to make it more colorful, if needed.

27 comments:

  1. Ah beautiful, yummy dish... :)

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  2. fabulous!!!! What a great idea to make a manchurian style dish out of fish...

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  3. Spicy!!! Sounds really delicious...I love Indian/Chinese dishes.

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  4. Slurp,fingerlicking chilly fish,makes me hungry..

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  5. OMG thats soooooo temptg.....want to make it now but no fish.....i love any chilli dish

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  6. wow...chili fish looks just so perfect and delicious....looks very very yummy !

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  7. Yummy and delicious chilly fish.. looks very tempting !!awesome pics..

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  8. Spicy and yummy, drooling here..adipoli aayitundu.

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  9. ingane kothipikkalle dear adipoli...

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  10. a very nice starter. like the serving dish. Very tempting pics

    Deepa
    Hamaree Rasoi

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  11. Absolutely a visual treat to eyes as u said and sure a treat to stomach too, what a color fathima..Looks great ttoo..

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  12. Looks very tempting...perfect with some fried rice or noodles....lovely pictures too!

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  13. yummy...................first time here......u have a very nice blog..........happy 2 follow u.......pls visit my space vn u r free........
    http://experimentswithtaste.blogspot.com/

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  14. Absolutely yummmilious...lovely fish recipe. I have one in draft' with lil variation. Yours sounds lot better...a must try one:)

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  15. enikkum eppozhum ithu thammil confusion annu ;)..adipoli!!

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  16. These look absolutely beautiful!! Gr8

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  17. WOW!! Really tempting clicks, Fathima..Evide Vishu sadya kazhikkan ready aayirikkuva, ee pics kandittu kothi aavunnu..Pinne I live in Issaquah, Fathimayum evide thanneyanno?

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  18. Hi Fathima..I made this as starter for a dinner party for our friends...everyone loved it and I hardly got any piece for myself.
    (Its me.. Shoma from Aussie land :-))

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  19. Asalamwalikam,

    Beautiful and tempting pic ;)..love to try your dish..

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  20. Dear Fatima
    How are you? I was quite occupied with some unavoidable happenings. and could even visit blogs. I dont know how many of your recipes I have missed.
    I like this recipe and will try soon..I only buy fish full of bones...so will get boneless fish..cant wait to make this one..
    Let me see what all have i missed.
    Have a nice week

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  21. Chilly fish is a great treat to me. Was just fond of chilli chicken now its time for fish. Lovely and delicious dish. Tempting click too.

    Hamsamalini Chandrasekaran,
    http://indianyummykitchen.blogspot.com

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  22. This looks so tasty..no matter what u call it :) I love such spicy seafood.

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  23. wow and wow wish to jump over it right away!

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