Spicy Fish Fry with Yellow Dal and Tomato Chutney
- ⏱ 1 hour 10 minutes
- Medium
- Serves 4
- 👥 2-cook recipe
A flavorful Indian-inspired meal of crispy spiced fish, comforting yellow dal and tangy tomato chutney.
Adapted from 7NEWS.
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Spicy Fish Fry with...
0/0
COOK 1COOK 2
1Mise en place
Prep 1 carrot: finely chop
2Cook aromatics
Thinly slice the brown onion for the tomato chutney
Crush the garlic cloves for the tomato chutney
Add ¼ tsp black mustard seeds, the sliced onion,...
3Plate and serve
+ 30 more steps in the app
Spicy Fish Fry with...
0/0
COOK 2COOK 1
1Mise en place
Prep 600 g skinless basa fillets: cut into 4cm pieces
Prep 25 g butter: chop
2Cook aromatics
3Plate and serve
+ 30 more steps in the app
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- ¼ tsp black mustard seeds
- 1 brown onion (thinly sliced)
- 1 green chilli (finely chopped)
- 4 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 2 tsp ginger paste
- 2 sprig curry leaves
- 400 g crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp white or brown sugar
- ¼ cup finely chopped coriander
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 1 brown onion (fish fry)
- 4 garlic cloves (fish fry)
- 3 cm fresh ginger (fish fry) (peeled)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (fish fry)
- 1 tsp ground turmeric (fish fry)
- 1 tsp salt (fish fry)
- ½ red chilli powder
- ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 600 g skinless basa fillets (cut into 4cm pieces)
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 2 tbsp rice flour
- vegetable oil for deep frying, to taste
- 75 g red split lentils
- 75 g yellow moong dal
- 75 g skinned split urad dal
- 75 g toor dhal
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil (dal)
- 1 brown onion (dal) (finely chopped)
- 1 carrot (finely chopped)
- 3 sprig curry leaves (dal)
- 4 garlic cloves (dal) (crushed)
- 1-2 green chillies (dal) (halved lengthways)
- 2 tsp ground turmeric (dal)
- 2 tsp asafoetida
- 1 large vine ripened tomato (chopped)
- 25 g butter (chopped)
- 1.25 L vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander (dal)
- 2 tsp vegetable oil (dal tempering)
- 2 tsp ghee
- 1 dried chilli
- 1 green chilli (tempering) (halved lengthways)
- ½ tsp black mustard seeds (tempering)
- ¼ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 sprig curry leaves (tempering)
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil (fish fry tempering)
- ¼ tsp black mustard seeds (fish fry tempering)
- ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
- 2 cm fresh ginger (fish fry tempering) (finely chopped)
- 2 garlic cloves (fish fry tempering) (finely chopped)
- 2 sprig curry leaves (fish fry tempering)
- 1 green chilli (fish fry tempering) (halved lengthways)
- 1 tsp salt (fish fry tempering)
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp finely chopped cashew nuts
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp plain yoghurt
- 2 tsp lemon juice (fish fry tempering)
The full plan
Split between two cooks — each step says who's on it.
1. Mise en place BOTH
- Prep 600 g skinless basa fillets: cut into 4cm pieces
- Prep 25 g butter: chop
- Prep 1 carrot: finely chop
2. Cook aromatics COOK 2
- Thinly slice the brown onion for the tomato chutney
- Crush the garlic cloves for the tomato chutney
- Add ¼ tsp black mustard seeds, the sliced onion, chopped chilli, crushed garlic and 2 tsp ginger paste
- Cook until onion is soft and translucent
- Stir in 400 g crushed tomatoes and 1 tsp white or brown sugar
- Bring to a boil
3. Chop chilli COOK 1
- Finely chop the green chilli for the tomato chutney
🤝 Cook 2 hands the large saucepan to Cook 1.
4. Wash lentils COOK 1
- Wash and drain the red split lentils, yellow moong dal, skinned split urad dal and toor dhal
- In a large saucepan, heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil over medium heat
5. Process fish paste COOK 1
- In a food processor, process the fish fry onion, garlic, and ginger to form a paste
- Add lemon juice, turmeric, salt, red chilli powder and Kashmiri chilli powder and process to combine
6. Simmer chutney COOK 2
- Simmer, partially covered, stirring often for about 15 minutes or until thickened and reduced
7. Marinate fish COOK 1
- Transfer the paste to a large bowl, add the fish pieces, toss to coat, and refrigerate covered for 30 minutes
8. Cook dal aromatics COOK 1
- Add the finely chopped onion, carrot, curry leaves, crushed garlic, halved green chillies, turmeric and asafoetida
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft
- Stir in the chopped tomato and chopped butter
- Stir in 1.25 L vegetable stock and bring to a boil
🤝 Cook 2 hands over the carrot.
9. Finish chutney COOK 2
- Remove from heat, set aside for 15 minutes
- Stir in ¼ cup finely chopped coriander and 1 tsp lime juice
10. Simmer dal COOK 1
- Simmer, covered, stirring often until the dal has thickened and lentils are very tender and starting to break down
11. Heat tempering oil COOK 1
- In a small saucepan, heat 2 tsp vegetable oil and 2 tsp ghee over medium heat
- Add the dried chilli, green chilli, black mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves
- Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until fragrant
12. Heat frying oil COOK 1
- Half-fill a large saucepan or wok with oil and place over medium-low heat until it reaches 180°C
13. Coat fish COOK 2
- Sprinkle the combined cornflour and rice flour over the marinated fish mixture and toss to coat
🤝 Cook 1 hands over the marinated fish mixture.
14. Fry fish COOK 1
- Add fish in batches and cook without touching until golden brown, crisp and cooked through
- Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent paper
15. Finish dal tempering COOK 2
- Stir the tempering mixture into the dal and stir in 2 tbsp chopped coriander
🤝 Cook 1 hands over the tempering mixture.
16. Heat tempering oil COOK 1
- In a large wok, add 3 tbsp of the oil from deep frying the fish and heat over medium heat
- Add black mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, finely chopped ginger, finely chopped garlic, curry leaves and green chilli, stir‑fry for 1‑2 minutes or until fragrant
- Stir in 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp garam masala, then stir in 1 tbsp finely chopped cashew nuts, 2 tsp soy sauce and 2 tbsp plain yoghurt
17. Combine fish and tempering COOK 2
- Remove from heat, add the fried fish to the tempering mixture, toss to coat
- Add 2 tsp lemon juice and toss to coat
🤝 Cook 1 hands the large wok to Cook 2.
18. Plate and serve BOTH
- Serve the spicy fish fry with yellow dal and tomato chutney
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