Fried Fish Fillets

"I wake up in the morning to the sound of raindrops
And I wonder where you would be
And I wonder if its raining there.
Wherever you are, I hope you think of me, when its raining there"
- Tushar Raheja

It was not morning, it was evening but it was raining. I was back home just in time. If I hadn't come home early, I had been stranded in the traffic for hours. This was the best downpour this season. The weather was mesmerizing. Rains brought a lot of feelings both happy and sad. And the memories of our loved ones. If I had been home, mother must have made something delicious to bring the warmth.

I made a hot cup of ginger tea and made myself cosy on the couch on the terrace looking in the rains. For some moments I was lost. I wanted to sit there for some more time. But I was getting messages from my stomach. I had nothing much in terms of grocery. But had some fish fillets which I had bought earlier this weekend. My mom loves fish. So nothing could be better than making fried fish fillets. And I made them her way by pounding spices for making fresh paste to marinate the fillets. But the whole effort paid. As soon as the paste was ready, a nice aroma of the spices started coming. If you don't want to follow the traditional method of making the marination paste using mortar & pestle, make the paste using an electric mixer.

Ingredients

1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 teaspoon black pepper corn seeds
4-5 fresh fish fillets
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 tbsp onion paste
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 red chili powder
salt to taste
oil for frying


Method

* Properly wash the fish fillets and dry them.
* In a mortar, add coriander seeds and black pepper corns. With the pestle crush them till a fine powder is made.
* Add chopped onions, red chillies, salt, ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder and make a fine paste.
* Coat the fish fillets with this paste, covering all the sides.
* Leave the fillets for an hour.
* In a frying pan, add oil and shallow fry the fillets from both sides.
* Serve hot with lemon onion cucumber salad.

Note:Pounding the herbs and spices releases the full range of essential oils, aroma and flavor they contain, giving chili sauces and curry pastes a greater breadth and depth of flavor than chopping them in a food processor can achieve.