Name: Bengali Fish Chop
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 150 g Bhetki Fish, or Rohu, boiled and deboned; 1 Potato, boiled and mashed; ½ Onion, finely chopped; ½ tsp Ginger, finely grated; ½ tsp Garlic, finely grated; 1 Green Chili Pepper, finely chopped; ¾ tsp Bhaja Masala, roasted cumin, coriander, and dry chilli powder; ¼ tsp Garam Masala; 1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, chopped; ½ Egg, beaten, for coating; ½ cup Breadcrumbs, for outer crust; 1 tbsp Mustard Oil, for cooking filling; 1 cup Cooking Oil, for deep frying; ½ tsp Salt, to taste

55 mintotal

40 min hands-on15 min hands-off

Prep 25 min · Cook 15 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: Medium

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Method

Heat the measured mustard oil in a heavy pan. Add the finely chopped onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies. Sauté them steadily until the raw sharpness has cooked off and the onions have softened.
Add the boiled, deboned and flaked fish to the pan. Stir constantly over the heat for 5 minutes, until all the moisture has cooked away.
5 min
Add the mashed potatoes, the bhaja masala (roasted spice powder), garam masala and salt to the fish. Work it together firmly by hand until it comes together into a single, cohesive, completely dry dough.
Turn off the heat. Fold in the fresh coriander. Let the mixture cool completely before shaping; it will fall apart if you try to shape it hot.
Shape them: take even portions of the chilled mixture. Press them firmly into slightly flattened ovals or short cylinders, which is the classic chop shape.
Coat them: dip each chop fully into the beaten egg. Lift it out, let the excess drip off, and roll it straight away in the dry breadcrumbs. Roll it thoroughly so it picks up a thick, even coating.
Heat plenty of frying oil to a good medium-high in a large kadhai.
Fry the coated chops in small batches. Keep them in the oil until the breadcrumb crust turns a deep, crisp golden brown.
Lift them onto absorbent paper to drain the surface oil. Serve immediately.

How to tell it's done

A thick, very crunchy crumb coating that crumbles at once onto a warm, deeply savoury, melt-in-the-mouth fish and potato filling.

Getting it right

Tip

Chef's Tip: The undisputed soul of a master-level Bengali Chop resides entirely within the 'Bhaja Masala'. Executing a meticulous dry-roast of cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and desiccated red chillies prior to pulverization injects an unparalleled, hyper-aromatic smoky depth that commercial powders cannot replicate.

What to serve it with

An untouchable titan of Eastern street gastronomy. Mandate presentation alongside a ferociously sharp Kasundi (Bengali mustard emulsion), a sweet ketchup counterpoint, and a highly acidic slaw of micro-thin onions and cucumber.

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Ingredients