Tandoori Finger Fish w/ Basa Fish Fillets

AKA Fish Pakoda

And finally 'Toronto' got its first heavy snow this week, after a record break of snow free November after 162 years. With festive season going in full zoom and the stage set for a perfect winter wonderland, its time to enjoy hot spicy finger food like Basa Tandoori finger fish/Pakoda.

The first time I got to taste this finger fish was from a Indian/Pakistani takeout 2 years ago. I and hubby were completely taken by the taste of it. Moreover my husband is a huge seafood fan. Again no misconceptions here..our seafood menu is very selective and confined only to cooked fish, shrimp/prawn and occasionally crabs. So fish being the main Seafood that we look forward to enjoy..I use to takeout this finger fish whenever I visited this takeout place and also found out from them that they were using Basa fish fillets to make this Tandoori fish pakoda. Then one day I was happy to find raw Basa fish fillet in the Asian grocery store's frozen food section. I took no time to grab one packet of that frozen Basa fish and the thought occured to me "why don't I try the Restaurant style Finger fish at home". I have this habit of trying out restaurant food at home. So I reproduced the takeout/restaurant style at home and it didn't disappoint me. Ever since I started making this at home instead of takeout. Though I made this finger fish a few times, never got a chance to click it. This time since I made and parcelled it to one of my my friend who is expecting, I tried to present it the same way as they do in the take out and clicked the same.

This fish fry makes a good starter dish and is apt to accompany the finger food trays.

So here is my recipe for Tandoori Basa Finger Fish :
Ingredients :
Two Basa fish fillets, cut into thin long strips about a finger length.
Oil for frying.
Marination:
Corn flour/Channa flour - 2 Tbsp
ginger/garlic paste - 1 tsp
Chilly powder - 1tsp
Fish Masala - 2 tsp (I use Shan Fish masala)
Lemon pepper - 1/2 tsp
Tandoori Masala - 1 tsp
Salt to taste.
Garnish :
Onion rings
Lemon wedges
Coriander leaves chopped

Method :
In a mixing bowl add all the marination items with enough water to make a paste.
Marinated the fish strips with the above marination for 1 - 3 hrs
Now either deep fry or pan fry the fish pieces with enough oil.
Garnish with onion rings, cilantro and a dash of lime.

Tandoori Egg Scarmble

Continuing the Egg series...here is yet another different version of scramble egg...This is real spicy though and actually doesn't require any recipe writing...This is more of sharing a thought than writing a recipe. Obviously I used Tandoori malasa here... There was a day when I needed to do scrambled egg and my pan had this remaining oil and cooked tandoori masala from the pan fried Tandoori chicken on it...So the thought occurred to me why not make use of it. So I heated the Masala tawa and cracked eggs into it and scramble the eggs coating them with this masala. There is no need to add any other ingredient here....
But the end result is simply gr8. You get this spicy masala chilli egg scramble to go as stuffing into your wheat tortilla wrap...You can add same salad to make a more complete meal or snack.

Tandoori Chicken Fried Rice

Often times after I bake tandoori chicken I feel bad to put away so much cooked masala marinade which fell from the chicken pieces onto the foil.

There was this one day when I baked some tandoori chicken and had lots of this cooked masala marinade left on my foil tray. So quickly I remember the left over biriyani rice in the fridge, and put on my cooking hat to come up with something differetn and tasty. Not leaving our nutritious veggies,a new dish called Tandoori Chicken Fried rice was born.

This is a typical Indian spicy fried rice which can be made from the fresh or left over cooked tandoori masala marinade and tandoori chicken and either we can use the plain rice or if you have krushka or pulav, or left over biriyani. You can used frozen or fresh veggies. I always prefer cutting fresh veggies. So there you got a complete meal in one dish - Proteins, Carbs, Vitamins and fibre.....and .....not to mention the good taste.

Ingredients:
2 Thigh pieces of Tandoori chicken(Baked or Barbecued)
3-4 Tbsp of Cooked Tandoori Chicken masala Marinade
4 - 6 Cups Cooked Rice/Fresh or Left over biriyani
1 Egg
2 tsp cooking oil
1 rem of fresh Curry leaves
2-3 Thai Green Chillies slit into halves
1 big Onion cut length wise
2 - 3 Cups choice of chopped veggies (Carrots, Cabbage, Beans, Peas, Broccoli, Cauliflower)
1/2 tsp each of Chilly, Coriander, Cumin powders( if desired)
Salt to taste
Finely chopped fresh Coriander to garnish.

Procedure:
In a wide pan, heat oil, sizzle curry leaves, green chillies.
Add Onions and cook till Onions are little cooked and crispy
Now add the Chopped veggies, some salt and stir the veggies till crispy and cooked, for 5 -7 mins or so,
Now make space in the pan to beat an and make it into scramble, adding enough salt for the egg.
Once the scramble egg is fried mix it with the rest of veggies.
Now add the cooked Tandoori masala marinade, chicken pieces and the plain or biryani rice along with the CCC powders if using.
Add enough salt again and mix well.
Garnish with Coriander leaves and remove from heat.

This is also sent to Srivalli from Cooking for All Seasons for the food blog event Rice Mela

Tandoori (Wild Atlantic) Salmon

Back home I never even heard of the name of Salmon fish. And the first time I ever tasted this fish was in an Air Canada flight from London to Toronto. When I had to choose from Chicken or Salmon, unlike other times I dared to try a totally new dish. That was a baked Salmon with creamy sauce and boiled greens..I was happy I liked it or else I would have starved that meal.

So there starts my story with this fish "Salmon"...and now for the past few years I enjoy the home cooked Salmon with boiled greens or vegies.

Though there are a variety of ways to cook this fish. This is one the most easiest, tastiest and healthiest ways I enjoy cooking it. And this contributes to a quick dinner meal...on the week days when you return home after a tired day of work.

More over kids and my Husband like it too. Though it can be made spicy..we can reduce the spice so kids can have too. As it is adviceable to have fish atleast 2-3 servings a week, I try to include fish in our meals. And if you are into that Omega3 slogan/jargon...then Salmon is one fish which contains "Omega3 fatty acids" which increases the good cholestrol.

More on Salmon:
Salmon nutrition facts show us that the benefits of salmon are many. The Omega-3 fatty acids in salmon and other fatty fish may help prevent heart disease and stroke by lowering the body's rate of blood clotting.

Omega-3 fatty acids also decrease the level of triglycerides, which damages your arteries, and can lower your blood pressure. All heart healthy advantages.

An added benefit is that research has shown that if you do have a heart attack, fish eaters are less likely to die from the irregular heart rhythm that often follows a heart attack.

Research is showing other benefits from eating salmon. Omega-3 fatty acids help lower LDL or "bad" cholesterol, another gain for a healthy heart. It is also thought to help prevent cancer, including prostate and breast cancer, as well as arthritis and other inflammatory diseases like psoriasis. You can see why salmon is thought to be one of the best foods with protein we can eat.

Omega-3 fatty acids have also been shown to reduce menstrual cramps, prevent depression and help protect against Alzheimer's disease.

A bonus for diabetics - Omega-3 fatty acids can help stabilize blood sugar. It is also thought to prevent hunger pangs, a real boon for those of us watching our calorie intake.

So if you are seafood eaters go ahead and take the benefit of eatign this fish.Here is one of the ways you can enjoy it.

The recipe below is the fusion of the western fish "Wild Atlantic Salmon" with the Eastern Spices. One of the best ways to eat this fish, cause Salmon has a mild flavour, to compliment it the addition of the Indian Spices really help.


Ingredients:
Wild Atlantic Salmon fish Steaks/Thick Fillets, w/or w/o skin.
Olive Oil for frying - 2 Tbsp; If baking top 1 tbsp oil on the fillets/steak

Marination:
Plain Yogurt : 1 Tbsp
ginger/garlic paste - 1 tsp
Chilly powder - 1tsp (Optional)
Fish Masala - 2 tsp (I use Shan Fish masala)
Tandoori Masala - 1 Tbsp ( I use Kissan or Zaika)
Lemon pepper - 1/2 tsp
Sambar powder - 1 tsp (optional)
Finely chopped Fresh coriander and curry leaves
Salt to taste.

Method:
In a bowl mix all the marination items with enough water to make a paste.

Rub the Marinate on the fish fillets with the above marination for 1 - 3 hrs

Now either pan fry the fish peices with the heated oil.

If baking preheat oven to 375c and bake each side for 10 minutes.

Garnish with onion rings, cilantro and a dash of lime.

Serve this with Stir fried or baked Vegies.

Tandoori Chicken Baked in Oven

The word Tandoori is synonomous to India. Tandoori Chicken is so famous in India as Pizza is in Italy.

My Tandoori chicken recipe is not made in the traditional Tandoori oven but can be baked in our home conventional oven or on a Barbaque Oven.

It has a simple recipe and except for the time to bake all that takes is a 3-5 minutes to prepare the marinade for marinating the chicken overnight.

It tastes better when consumed fresh and hot. So at times when we feel we may not finish all the chicken that is marinated, bake only the amount that can be finished at that time. We can save the remaining for the next day to bake it fresh.

Ingredients:
Chicken Thighs with Drum sticks : 4 (Skin and fat removed)
Magarine to coat a Baking Tray lined with foil.
Marination:
Yogurt : 1/4 cup
Ginger Garlic Paste : 1 Tbsp
Tandoori Chicken Masala : 2 Tbsp ( I use Kissan Brand)
Finely chopped Mint and Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tsp
Optional
A hint of Seekh & Bihari Kabab Masalas - 1 tsp together ( I use Shan brand)
Red chilly powder - 1/4 tsp (for extra spice)

Procedure:
1. Prepare marinade with the marination ingredients above.
2. Marinate the chicken in the marinade masala, preferably overnight or atleast for 3 hours, in the fridge.
3. Pre heat the oven for 350 C,
4. Arrange the Chicken on the foiled tray and place it in the oven to bake for 20 - 25 minutes on one side.
5. Now drain off the excess water and the oil that comes out of the baking chicken in the tray and turn the chicken peices and bake them on this side for another 10 - 15 minutes.
6. Again drain off any excess oil and water, turn the chicken again and bake for 5 minutes more for the final finish and the red color.
7. Remove the tray from the oven, keep aside for 5 minutes and then transfer the chicken peices into the serving plate.

This is served with a salad, slices of cucumber, onions and lemon.