Nisha's Friday night fish and chips
This week Nisha’s turning her hand to one of our undisputed national dishes - fish and chips!
We eat nearly 400 million portions of fish and chips every year, and today our spice queen is putting her twist on crispy battered fish and chips for the ultimate Friday feast.
Fish and chips
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 Maris Piper Potatoes, peeled and sliced into chips
1 tbsp plus ½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp sea salt
120g gram/chickpea flour
½ tsp salt
½ fenugreek powder
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of chilli powder
1 tsp nigella seeds
4 white fish fillets (cod or hake)
150-200ml of Water
Lemon wedges to serve
Method
1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water up to the boil, reduce the heat to low and completely submerge your chips simmering for 8-10minutes until the edges are softened but they are still firm.
2. Drain in a colander and sprinkle over the tablespoon of ground turmeric, fenugreek and the salt. Give the potatoes a good shake to make sure they're covered in the turmeric.
3. While the potatoes are boiling, make your batter. Sift the gram flour into a mixing bowl with the salt, baking powder, ½ teaspoon of ground turmeric, and the chilli powder, add the nigella seeds and mix.
4. Add the water slowly while mixing consistently until you get a thick batter consistency.
5. Heat a deep-fat fryer to 180C or set a saucepan over a medium-high heat with about 4cm of oil. The oil is hot enough when you drop a small amount of batter into it and it floats on the surface.
6. Using a large meter slotted spoon carefully submerge the chips in the oil and cook for 8-10 minutes until golden and crispy. Once cooked, remove gently and place on paper towels to drain and then set aside.
7. Sprinkle the fish with a little gram flour, then dip in the batter and shake off any excess. Carefully lower each piece of fish into the deep-fat fryer and fry for around 4 minutes or until golden and crispy.
8. Serve immediately with lemon wedges and Mowgli Ketchup (Ketchup with a couple cloves of chopped garlic and a handful of finely chopped coriander). Mix the ketchup right before serving so it does not discolour.