Fish Chops

There was some leftover fish in the freezer which gave me the idea to make some fish chops. Previously I used to use canned tuna to make fish chops. This time the only thing that I did differently was marinated the fish with little bit of lemon juice, washed it off, boiled the fish till it changed colors. Once the fish cooled down I mashed it using the back of the spoon and very carefully de-boned the fish.

What I needed:

• 4 medium pieces of fish - I used Rohu - boiled and deboned and mashed
• 2 medium sizes potatoes - boiled and mashed
• 1 tablespoon of ginger paste
• 1 tablespoon of garlic paste
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 finely chopped cilantro (coriander) leaves
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4th cup flour
• 1/4th cup bread crumbs
• 2tbs cornflour
• salt to taste
• Green chillies - finely chopped - (I added about 3-4)
• Bread crumbs, egg wash (egg beaten with a tablespoon of water) and flour for coating.
• Oil for frying

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients and and made small balls. The mixture should be tight. If the mixture is a little too runny then add a little bit more flour. Make an assembly line of flour, egg wash and bread crumbs in 3 separate bowls, preferably shallow. Each ball of the mixture first gets coated in flour, dunked in the egg wash and then re-coated in bread crumbs. Take the coated ball between your palms and press down a little. Do remember to shake off the excess bread crumb.
Heat a wok/pan and add oil to it. Fry till the fish chops turn golden brown and serve them warm with some ketchup, chopped onions and grated cucumber. These go wonderfully with a cup of tea. But I served these with a glass of refreshing watermelon and sweet lime mocktail to beat the heat!

"Rohu fish contains 16.8 gms of protein per 100gms and the protein quality has a high digestibility coefficient.Added with egg the protein quality of this dish becomes even better. This will make a perfect dish in febrile conditions both chronic and acute. Contrary to popular belief ,deep fried food absorbs less oil than shallow frying. I recommend my patients to deep fry when needed, in oil which will not be reused". - Dr Ranjini Datta, HOD, Dietetics, KPC Medical College