Punjabi-Style Fried Catfish Recipe

Excerpted from ‘I Am From Here: Stories and Recipes From a Southern Chef‘

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Published September 02, 2022

Punjabi Fried Fish rests on pieces of paper

Angie Mosier

Serves 6

One Sunday afternoon, I was watching YouTube videos of Indian street food vendors and came across one of a man serving fried fish in Amritsar. The city is located in the northern Indian state of Punjab, near the border with Pakistan. I watched the chunks of carp fry in sizzling oil dyed golden by turmeric. I wanted to learn more. I called two chef friends who have roots in Punjab, Maneet Chauhan of Nashville, Tennessee, and Sunny Baweja of Richmond, Virginia. Both told me that river fish, dredged in a spiced chickpea-flour batter and deep-fried, is a very popular roadside snack in Punjab. (The state’s name means “Land of Five Rivers,” after all.) You’ll rarely find this kind of fish on the menu in sit-down restaurants, because it is considered a food of the poor and working class.

This made me think — where else in the world is there a tradition of frying fish that has long been considered food for poor, working-class people, not fit to be served at fine restaurants? Where else would you find a shack serving up delicious fried fish on makeshift tables with plastic chairs, or packed to go in Styrofoam clamshells? The answer, of course, is all over the world. Vietnam. Great Britain. And my home state of Mississippi, where catfish is king.

I asked chefs Chauhan and Baweja to share their recipes with me, and I tried my own adaptation with catfish. Catfish took to the spicy chickpea-flour batter like a fish to water, and I had a dining room full of happy guests.

The method here is a little different than for the Cornmeal-Fried Catfish (page 229) because so much of the flavor and texture comes from a thick coating of batter. Dusting the marinated fillets with rice flour or cornstarch before dipping them in the batter helps the batter adhere to the fish and stay on as it fries.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons turmeric
3 teaspoons salt, divided
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 (5- to 7-ounce) catfish fillets
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
½ cup chickpea flour
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced cilantro stems, plus chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish
2 teaspoons minced serrano chile
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon ajwain seeds
2 cups neutral oil, such as peanut or canola
½ cup rice flour or cornstarch
Chaat masala (store-bought or homemade, page 8), for garnish
Thinly sliced red onion, for serving
Lime wedges, for serving

Directions

To make the marinade, combine the turmeric, 2 teaspoons salt, cayenne and lemon juice in a nonreactive bowl. Add the fish fillets and flip to coat. Refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.

To make the batter, toast the coriander seeds in a small, dry pan over medium heat for about 1 minute. Add the cumin seeds and toast, shaking the pan gently so that the seeds toast evenly and do not burn, until both spices are fragrant, about 1 more minute. Remove from the heat and, when cool enough to handle, grind in a spice grinder or coffee grinder, or with a mortar and pestle. Transfer the ground coriander and cumin to a shallow bowl. Add the chickpea flour, garlic, ginger, cilantro stems, serrano, paprika, ajwain seeds and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Add ½ cup water and whisk to combine everything well. If the batter seems too thick, add another ¼ cup water and whisk again. It should be a thick, almost waffle batter consistency.

Heat the oil to 350°F in a cast-iron skillet, Dutch oven or electric fryer. Use a deep-fry thermometer to check and maintain even oil temperature.

While the oil is heating, set up your frying station. Take the fish out of the refrigerator. Put the rice flour or cornstarch in a shallow baking dish or pie tin. From left to right on the counter to the left of the stove, line up the marinated catfish, then the dish of rice flour or cornstarch, then the bowl of batter. On the other side of the stove, place a large plate or sheet pan lined with paper towels. Keep a slotted spatula or a spider strainer by the stove for removing the fish from the oil.

Once the oil has come to temperature, you’re ready to begin dusting, battering and frying. Depending on the size of your vessel, you will probably need to fry the catfish in two batches. (If the pot gets too crowded, it will bring down the temperature of the oil, resulting in soggy fish that is undercooked on the inside.) Use one hand to handle the fish, keeping the other hand clean. Take one fillet out of the marinade, gently shaking off any excess liquid. Place it in the dish of rice flour or cornstarch, turning to coat it lightly and/or using your fingers to sprinkle a light dusting all over the fish. This step helps the batter adhere. Next, dip the fish in the batter, turning to coat. Then, gently lower the fish into the hot oil, being careful not to splash yourself. Repeat with two or three more fillets. Unless your pot or fryer is very large, fry no more than three or four fillets at a time.

After 3 to 4 minutes, use a slotted spatula or similar tool to gently turn the fillets in the oil. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, until the fillets are golden brown and crispy and the fish is cooked through. Carefully transfer the fried fish to the paper-towel-lined plate. If working in batches, repeat the battering and frying steps with the remaining fillets. Make sure the oil temperature returns to 350°F between batches. If you want to wait until all of the fish is fried before serving your guests, you may transfer the drained fillets to a sheet pan in a 200°F oven to keep them warm.

Before serving, sprinkle the fried fish with chaat masala and chopped cilantro leaves. Serve with sliced red onion and lime wedges for squeezing.

Excerpted from I Am From Here: Stories and Recipes From a Southern Chef by Vishwesh Bhatt. Copyright © 2022 by Vishwesh Bhatt. Used with permission of the publisher, W.W. Norton & Co., Inc. All rights reserved.