Fish Fingers

           

We all love Indian Street Food starting from bhel puri, pani puri, papdi chaat, dahi bhalle, samosa chaat and the list goes on and on. If you move towards Eastern part of India you'll find there are number of vendors selling "CHOP" aka croquettes. They have variety of chops in their stall starting from vegetable chop, fish chop and chicken chop. You name it and you'll find that variety in their stall.

One of the very famous street foods is Fish Fingers or Fish Sticks. They are very delicious snack /appetizer and go very well with your evening cup of tea. They are also one of the favorite recipes for kids. 

But the question is how much hygiene they maintain in their shops. We're feeding those chops aka croquettes to our kids to our family members but always have a guilt in our mind i.e. what oil they're using, what kind of water they're using etc etc.

I have a stern belief that home cooked food is always better than street food. So, I prefer to give my family home cooked food but not compromising on the taste.

Fish Fingers or Fish Sticks or Fish Nuggets whatever you call them are made from any kind of White Fish (Cod, Haddock, Basa etc). Here, I'm using Tilapia.

These fish fingers or fish sticks are first battered and then coated with bread crumbs and finally deep fried. You can serve them with any kind of dipping sauce of your choice.

You can also freeze them for upto 3 weeks and when you want thaw them and fry them in hot oil on medium heat for 10-12 minutes. You're done.

So, let's start with the recipe:

Crab Croquettes

                         
Hello foodies, hope you all are doing good. It’s that time of the year when we all shed the layers of woolen clothes and get into some bright, beautiful colors of spring. Though, we don’t have official spring here in India but still I have seen many stores (clothing) offers discounts in the name of Spring……Lolzzzzz

Lately, it’s been too hot and humid here in Kolkata, West Bengal and I’m afraid how I’ll be surviving the upcoming months. I think the best way to deal with summer is to keep yourself hydrated every time. Drink as much as water you can which helps in releasing the toxins. Last year I had posted many summer special drinks and I’m sure they will help in quenching your thirst.

• Virgin Watermelon Sangria
• Aam Panna 
• Pinacolada
• Cucumber Lime Mojito
• Mango Kulfi
• Mango Ice-cream

Anyway I think I’m getting deviated from today’s post which is about Crabs. I haven’t tasted Crab until I went to US and trust me I didn’t like it much as I was getting a very weird kind of smell but when I came to India and found crab sticks in one of the superstores, I thought of trying it once again and the very first recipe which came to my mind was to make Croquettes out of those.

These Crab sticks are very hassle free to work with as they come ready to use. You don’t have to even crack the shells (that's the worst part of eating crab). The recipe calls for very few ingredients and the time it takes from pan to plate is less than 10 mins. Because it’s such a hassle free dish it works best when you have unplanned guests at your home provided you have crab sticks handy in your freezer. So, without any further ado let’s begin with the recipe:

Macher Chop (Fish Croquettes)..............From the streets of Kolkata

Bengalis and Fish are inseparable. There's a very renowned saying in Bengali "Mache Baate Bangali" which means Fish and Rice make a Bengali. Being in India this year we can enjoy so many different varieties of fishes. Although we used to get some of the popular varieties in Portland(USA) too but they would be frozen :(

Monsoons are in full swing in India now. So, our tea time demands for some snacks specially some "Tele Bhaja" (deep fried snacks). If you are in Kolkata then you're in the hub of street foods. Every evening you can find various stalls at every nooks and corners of the streets. You can easily devour them standing at the stalls but making them at home gives you an immense pleasure and what more they come out hygenic too.

"Chop" is nothing else but a Cutlet or Croquette. It  is a small, cylindrical or round shaped, stuffed with minced meat and mashed potatoes or mixed vegetables. It is then dipped into corn flour batter, rolled in breadcrumbs and then deep fried. "Macher Chop" or "Fish Croquette" is a very common snack in our home. We both love them with finely sliced onions, cucumbers, tomatoes and ketchup. These croquettes can be prepared using many kind of fishes but I prefer Katla than anything else.

It doesn't matter whether its a vegetarian or non-vegetarian chop, it will have its own unique taste and equally tempting too. These serve as a great appetizer and a complete party pleaser. So, let's start with the recipe: