Rawa Fish Fry/ Rawa masala : Fish coated with cream of wheat and shallow fried.

We Mangaloreans love our fish! May be because we live in a coastal region. 😊 I am specially partial to fried fish. We fry our fish several different ways. We fry it plain with just the spicy marination, or coat it with a spicy masala and dip it in rice flour and fry it. We also dip the marinated fish in rava or cream of wheat and fry it when it is called Rawa fry!! I love the texture that you get with rawa fry. If you are gluten free, you can use corn meal instead of rawa. You get the same result.

The rawa fry can be a tawa fry ( pan fried), can be deep fried or shallow fried! I like to tawa fry it or shallow fry it for 2 reasons: a) it is healthier than deep-fried. b) the rawa does not drop off into the oil and get burnt.

Either ways, it is very easy to make. You can do this with any kind of fish. I have used tilapia. It works great with King fish, mackerel, porgy, pretty much any fish! You can use fillets it steaks. It makes a great combination with rice and Dali thoy ( dal) or rasam or with just plain rice kanji ( rice porridge).
Try it for yourself!!

Prep time: 10 mins + atleast 15 mins marination timeCook time: 10 mins
Total time: 35 mins

Servings : 2

Ingredients:

Tilapia pieces : 2 big ones

1/4 cup Oil: for frying ( can use more if needed).
Onion rings: 6-8,for garnish
Lemon wedges: 2, for garnish

For marination:

Red chilli powder: 1 tbsp ( I use Kashmiri chilli powder as it is not too spicy and give a nice red color).
Turmeric powder ( haldi): 1 tbsp
Asofoetida ( hing)powder: a pinch
Salt: to taste
Lemon juice: 1 tbsp
Water: to make a paste
Rawa /sooji( cream of wheat) or cornmeal: 4 tbsp

Method:

Clean the fish pieces and keep aside.

In a bowl mix together red chilli powder, salt, haldi, hing, lemon juice and water to make a nice thick paste.

Apply this liberally to the fish pieces and keep aside for atleast 20-30 minutes.

Heat  oil in a frying pan on medium flame.

Take the rawa/sooji in a plate. Dip the fish in it so that the rawa coats it completely on all sides.

When the oil is slightly sizzling,  place the fish steaks in the oil and let it cook on medium-low heat for 7-8 minutes on one side. 

Now flip it and cook for 5-6 more minutes on low heat.

Drain on paper towels.

Serve hot with onion rings and lemon wedges. 

You can also serve it as a side with rice, dal and other accompaniments to make a complete meal.

Enjoy!

I am bringing this to Angie's Fiesta Friday #179! Her cohosts this week are Petra @ Food Eat Love and Laura @ Feast Wisely. If you have never been to one of her fiesta's, you should..it is tons of fun!

Cooking made easy:

Whenever you fry something, make sure that the oil is not too hot or cold when you drop the fish in it. If the oil is too hot, the fish will get burnt and if the oil is not hot enough, the fish will absorb too much oil and become oily! To check the temperature of the oil, drop into oil a drop of the marinade or batter. It should float right up to the surface of the oil. If it sinks, the oil is not hot enough.

Tip for healthy living:

Using minimal oil while cooking greatly reduces the total fat ingested by the body on a given day. Also using healthier oils that are meant to sustain high heats like coconut oil, mustard oil, sesame oil is healthier.
Some oils are not meant to be heated! They lose their nutritional value upon heating!

Food for thought:

If a plan doesn't work, change it. Don't change the goal. Unknown

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

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Quick Zucchini Pickle

Indian pickles are totally different from what the western world refers to as pickles! The only similarity is that both use brine to preserve some vegetable over a period of several months to several years. Most Indian pickles are red in color and are eaten as a condiment with a meal in minuscule quantity. One just cannot consume pickle in large quantities as they are really fiery hot! The red color of the pickle comes from the red chillies that is one of the primary ingredients in the pickle. Other ingredients include a variety of spices that are used like mustard powder, asofoetida, coriander powder etc. The pickles could be made using brine or oil as a preservative. There is no other preservative used in Indian pickles. They are usually preserved in huge earthen jars. Now-a-days, glass bottles are used. Needless to say, Indian meals are incomplete without a pickle.


 

The pickle I made today is the simplest and easiest one. By now, I am sure that everyone who reads my blog knows that I don't make anything that is time-consuming ,tedious or complicated!  This pickle can be ready in 15 mins. Most of the time, great care is observed while making pickles to ensure that everything is dry: the hands, the pots and spoons used, the ingredients used etc. Any use of regular water can make the pickle go bad and reduce the shelf life of the pickle.Only brine is the liquid used. I didn't use brine, but I haven't used water either! I have ensured that everything was absolutely dry but I know that my pickle will not have a long shelf life since I didn't use brine. I have therefore made a very small quantity as I didn't intend to preserve it for long. I wanted something for immediate use and that's what I made. It should last me for a week in the fridge.

This recipe is from my aunt, whom I fondly call Pushpa Mahve, who is a very talented and innovative cook as well. Like me, she loves to experiment in the kitchen. This zucchini pickle recipe has been kindly shared by her. This is a basic Mangalorean konkani pickle recipe where the main spices used are mustard powder and hing. This recipe has been modified a little and is absolutely delicious!

Servings: makes one 10 oz bottle

Ingredients:

Zucchini: 1 small
Kashmiri Red chilli powder : 1/4 cup
Hot red chilli powder: 2 tbsp 
Haldi ( turmeric powder): 1/2 tsp
Mustard powder: 1/4 cup
Hing: 2 tsp
Methi( fenugreek seeds) powder: 1/8 tsp
Salt: 1 tbsp( adjust as per taste)
Lemon juice: 1/4 cup

Method:

 

Chop the zucchini finely . 

Add this to a bowl with salt and lime juice.

In another bowl, mix together chilli powders, haldi, mustard powder,methi powder, hing and salt.

Now add this to the zucchini.


Mix well.

Store in a dry airtight glass jar. Lasts for upto one week in the refrigerator.

Can be consumed immediately, but tastes better the next day.

Enjoy!

Cooking made easy:

To increase the shelf life of the pickle, one can use brine instead of plain salt.

Raw green mango can be used to make the same pickle. If that is used, skip the lemon juice as mango when raw is sour by nature.

Tip for healthy living:

Any kind of pickle is best stored in glass jars and not in any kind of plastic as the salt in it reacts with the material of the plastic. This could have deleterious effects on our health.

Food for thought:

Food is the most abused anxiety drug. Exercise is the most underutilized anti-depressant. Unknown