Bengali fish fry with roasted cauliflower
Fried sea bass fillets with a warming marinade and crisp cauliflower side
Ingredients
For the marinade
- ¼ white onion, chopped
- ½ green chilli, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- ½ inch ginger, peeled and chopped
- ¼ cinnamon stick
- 2 green or black cardamon pods, seeds only
- 1 clove
- ¼ tsp black peppercorns
- ½ tsp sea salt flakes
- 5²µ/â…›o³ú fresh coriander
- ½ lime, juice only
For the fish
- 4 sea bass fillets
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú plain flour, plus 2 tsp crumbled sea salt flakes
- 150²µ/5½´Ç³ú panko breadcrumbs, crushed
- 1 large free-range egg, beaten
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
For the cauliflower
- 1 medium cauliflower, cut into medium florets
- 1 small sweetheart cabbage, cut into 3cm chunks
- 1 red onion, thickly sliced
- 5 tbsp of natural yoghurt
- 1 large red chilli, finely chopped
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes, plus extra to taste
- 4 heaped tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 2 tbsp natural or olive oil
- ½ lemon, juice only
Method
To make the marinade, place all the ingredients into a blender and blitz until you have a thick, green mixture. If you’re doing this by hand, finely chop the onion, chillies, garlic, ginger, and coriander and then pound in a large pestle and mortar with the other ingredients.
To make the fish, spread the marinade over each piece of fish, cover and marinate in the fridge for 1–2 hours.
Tip the flour and panko breadcrumbs into two separate, shallow bowls alongside a bowl with the beaten egg. Dip and turn each fish fillet evenly into the flour, followed by the egg and then the breadcrumbs.
Fill a deep-fat fryer or a large, deep, heavy-bottomed pan two-thirds full with the oil. Heat to 180C (a cube of bread should turn brown in one minute when dropped in.) CAUTION: Hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended. Fry the fillets until golden and crisp. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain the oil.
To make the cauliflower, preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Place the cauliflower, cabbage, and onion in a large roasting tin, ensuring the ingredients are evenly spaced out in one layer.
In a small bowl, mix the yoghurt, chopped ½ red chilli, mustard, oil and salt, then slather this mixture all over the vegetables until they’re evenly coated.
Transfer to the oven to roast for 25 minutes until the cauliflower is just cooked through and the cabbage is starting to char around the edges. Dress with the lemon juice, scatter over the ½ red chilli and taste. Add salt as needed and serve hot, scattered with coriander.
Serve the fried fish with the baked cauliflower.
