Crispy Basa Fish Fry

If you are a fish and chips and Indian food lover, you are in for a treat with this delicious easy crispy batter fried basa fish recipe.

This is an Indian style pan fried basa fillet recipe, that is juicy from within with a crispy golden breaded coating. An incredibly easy fish fillet fry recipe that is guaranteed to appeal to all ages.

You can eat basa fish fry as an appetizer or a main with vegetables or potatoes.

Ingredients For Fried Basa Fillet

You do not need any special difficult to buy ingredients for making this Indian crispy fish fry. You will find everything in your kitchen or in the supermarket.

It is aromatic and so tasty.

The ingredients you need to make this dish are:

FRESH AND PANTRY INGREDIENTS

⇒ 400 gms white fish fillet such as tilapia or Pangasius (basa fish fillet)

⇒ 1 onion, grated

⇒ 1 1/2 inch ginger, grated or paste

⇒ 8 garlic pods, grated or paste

⇒Juice of 1/2 lemon

⇒ -2-3 green chillies, crushed

⇒ 1 egg

⇒ 1 cup breadcrumbs

⇒ 1 cup oil for shallow frying

⇒Salt to taste

SPICES NEEDED

⇒2 tsp crushed black pepper

SUBSTITUTE INGREDIENTS

⇒ You can substitute egg with cornflour slurry ( read cooking tips and FAQ section below)

⇒ You can substitute breadcrumbs with panko (read cooking tips and FAQ section below)

How To Make Basa Fish Fry (Method with Images)

Although an easy recipe,  you will need to follow few stages to make this Indian fish fry. This does require working in small portions of time.

STAGE 1 – Make the marinade 

STEP 1 

Add ginger, garlic, green chillies and onion in a blender and make a coarse paste .

STAGE 2 – Marinade fish with first and second marinade 

STEP 1

Pat dry the fish fillet to remove excess moisture. Generously squeeze lemon juice, salt and pepper and marinade the fish for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, lightly pat the fish fillets and add the second marinade of onion,ginger, green chillies and garlic paste. Set aside for another 30 minutes or more.

STAGE 3 – Set up the coating line up 

STEP 1

For breaded basa fish fillet you will now need to set up the breading and coating assembly line.

Beat the eggs lightly in a bowl.  Put the breadcrumbs on a plate.

STEP 2

Start first with dipping the marinated fish in egg. Next coat each side of the fillet with breadcrumbs.

STEP 3

Repeat it for each fillet and set aside. Refrigerate the breaded fish fillet for an hour or so.

STAGE 4 – Shallow fry the fish 

STEP 1 

Heat oil in a shallow pan and add 1/2 cup oil. Bring the oil to heat and let it simmer on low heat. Reduce the temp to low again when the oil becomes hot.

Add the breaded fish fillet to the warm oil and fry on low heat until it becomes light brown on one side.

Gently turn in over on the other side and cook until golden brown.

Keep topping up the oil in between frying each fillet if you think the oil quantity in the pan is reducing.

Remove from heat and put the fried fish fillet on an absorbent kitchen tissue.

Repeat the process for every fillet. The fish will be golden with crispy breaded coating on the top and soft, succulent and juicy inside.

Serve basa fillet fry with mustard or tartar sauce as a starter or with salad, boiled/roasted veges and potatoes for a full meal.

Recipe Notes and FAQ’s

Below are some cooking tips to keep in mind when making this basa fillet recipe along with few question that may come to your mind while making this dish.

If you have any other query leave a comment or drop a message and I will get back to you ASAP.

• Always pat dry each fillet with an kitchen tissue to remove excess moisture from it before marinating the fillets.
• Ensure that there is not much of egg dripping out of the fillets otherwise it will make the breadcrumbs too wet and lumpy and make it difficult to coat the other fillets.
• Use left hand for coating the fish with wet ingredients and the right for dry breadcrumbs. This will help prevent cross dipping.
• Once the oil temperature is warm keep the the temperature to medium low so that it does not cook the coating faster than the fish.
• Putting the breaded fish fillet in the fridge makes the coating stick well to the fish and easier to fry.

What fish is best to make crispy fish fry with?

In my opinion firm white fish is the best type of fish to make crispy fried fish. Basa or pagnasisus fish is a neutral tasting fish which gives it a great taste.

Few of my favourite fish to make this recipe is to use Tilapia, Cod and Haddock . 

The dish tastes best if the the type of fish you use is not too strong and has a mild taste. 

What can you use as a breading for fried fish?

If you do not have breadcrumbs for coatig the fish fillets you can use Panko instead. In fact the fish comes out crispier with panko coating.

As this is an Indian fish fry recipe, we use breadcrumbs because panko is not easily available in India.

Just remember to put the fish in the fridge after breading for the coating to set properly before you fry. 

What is the best breading for making crispy fried fish?

This is a simple Indian style fish fry what does not require any fancy breading. Just normal dry breadcrumbs or panko does the trick.

If you wish you can add  a little rice powder to the breadcrumbs to make the coating stick a bit better to the fish although it is not required. 

You can also make homemade breadcrumbs with stale dry bread. 

I am allergic to egg, can I use something else other than egg for coating ?

You can substitute egg with cornflour slurry for making the binding.

Just take 3 tablespoon of cornflour, and dissolve it in 1/4 cup water to make a slurry. 

Dip the fish fillet in the slurry instead of egg and then in the breadcrumbs.  

How to fry Basa fish fillet to make it crispy?

To pan fry Basa fillet I suggest frying each fillet in warm oil until it become golden brown on one side. If, you are using a different type of fish, depending on the type and the thickness this can take anything from 5 minutes for one side and another 3 minutes for the other side after you turn it over. 

How do I prevent the fish fillet from sticking to the pan while shallow frying?

Few tips to ensure that the fish does not stick to the pan are:

1. Add enough oil that easily covers the entire bottom of the pan and not just few spoons. 
2. Ensure that the oil is warm. Add the fish only once the oil is warm. Putting the fish too early in cold oil will make the fish stick to the pan. 
3. It is also important to check that the breaded coating is not too wet or sticky. It is a good idea to fry the fish when it is out of the fridge and not at room temperature. 
4. Try not to lift or move the fish until you see the bottom of the fish turn slightly brown. Handling the fish too early will break the coating.  

Can I bake Basa fish in the oven instead of frying?

Frankly, the taste of the fish does alter if you bake it in the oven instead of frying. 

Th oil lends it a great taste. 

But if you wish to make a healthier version of fried fish then I would recommend adding 2 -3 tablespoon of oil to the breadcrumbs while breading to prevent the fish from drying out while baking. 

What can I serve Indian style fried fish with?

Although this crispy fried basa fish is served as a starter or appetizer , you can easily make it into a main meal by serving it with salad, potato wedges or boiled vegetables and rice.  

Other Indian Fish Recipes to Try

If you are looking for a traditional Indian fish dishes then try these :

Easy Indian Salmon Curry 

Fish Korma