Mori / Small Shark Fish Fry.

Mori / Small Shark Fish Fry .............

Fried fish is something that is liked by all fish eaters. We simply love the hot crunchy fish that is served with lunch or dinner. Mori / small sharks are fried rarely. This fish is usually prepared as a curry in my house. However this fish is very very tasty when fried too. So sometimes I do indulge myself when I crave to eat it fried crispy. Mori is always bought with its skin peeled off. This is done by the expert fish sellers as it is otherwise tough to remove the thick outer skin. Ask the seller to cut the fishes into pieces of 4“ in length. You will get at least about 8 pieces with medium sized Mori / small shark. 

Wash the mori / small shark fish pieces in plenty of water after removing any unwanted flesh if any at the center in the stomach. There will not be much of cleaning to make as mori / small shark is usually a clean fish with hardly anything to clean once the stomach part is cleaned when cutting. Apply salt and keep aside for 10 minutes. Once again wash and pat it dry and keep it aside.

In a small bowl add 1 tblsp of kashmiri red chilly powder (or any chilly powder that is less pungent), salt to taste, 1 tblsp of vinegar or ½ tsp of tamarind paste, pinch of haldi powder, ½ tsp of coriander powder, ½ tsp of fennel powder (Optional) and mix well. Rub this mixture to the mori / shark pieces well to evenly coat the fish on all sides. Put the masala coated fish pieces in a tight fitted steel box and put it in the fridge of an hour or so. 

Preparing the outside coating / dusting for the fish pieces : In a flat plate put in 2 tblsp of coarsely ground rice powder, 3 tblsp of fine rava, pinch of salt, ½ tsp of less spicy chilly powder and mix it well. Spread it flatly on the plate. Now roll each fish piece in the prepared mixture and keep it aside taking care to see that the excess mixture is dusted off.

Heat plenty of oil in a thick bottomed kadai and bring to full heat. Once the oil reaches smoking point, lower the temperature to medium and wait for 5 minutes. Now once again lightly roll the fish piece into the mixture, dusting off the excess and gently put it in the hot oil. Be careful and do not stay close to the fire. Sometimes the mori / small shark splutters in the oil. Add in a few more pieces depending upon the size of the kadai and also the amount of oil in it. Do not overcrowd the kadai. There should be enough place for the fish to get fried well. 

Gently roll the fish in between for the fish to get evenly browned on all sides. Maintain the temperature at the same level constantly for the fish to get cooked evenly and get crispy outside. Once done remove on an absorbent paper and leave aside for the excess oil to drain off. Repeat the process till all the fish pieces are fried and done. Serve the crispy hot fried mori / small shark fish pieces with Dal – Chawal – Bhaji.