Fish Batter Fry or Fish Orly -- Bengali Style

I think I have said a million times on my blog, that I have spent a big chunk of my growing up years outside Kolkata. And by outside, I do not mean merely the suburbs, the once quiet localities where now the city has encroached with malls et al. But I talk about  places still further, where if you boarded the express train at night after dinner, you would wake up just outside Kolkata with the morning sounds of "Cha-Gorom Cha-Cha Gorom" from the chaiwallahs. This is just to make clear that even though I have lived later in Calcutta later, I am not as familiar with the so-called institutions of Kolkata as many of you are.

For a large part of my childhood, Kolkata, remained the city of winter vacations,wrapped in embroidered Kashmiri shawls and smelling of rich brown fruit cakes. December was the only time of the year when we would be spending one whole month at my Dida's home, eating, lazing and generally having the kind of time which memories are made of. Somewhere nestled among the sun soaked winter afternoons in Alipore zoo, escalator rides at RBI and the Birla museum, there were also "biyebaris",  weddings of several removed cousins of my Mother's and the wedding feast catered during the occasion.

The menu at these biyebaris scored high above those in our mofussil towns and the one thing I liked most about them was the "fish fry" served with slivers of purple onion and mustard at the start of the meal. Fillet of fish, usually Bhetki, was rolled in a coating of eggs and breadcrumb and then deep fried, to make the brown, crunchy fish fry. This technique, I later learned, is called "breading". One bite in the the crunchy outer layer, revealed the sweet fish inside, taking you straight to food heaven.

"Fish Fry" was a rage in the late 70's and early eighties in Kolkata and a wedding feast was not complete without them. Other than the weddings, fish fry was also sold at some restaurants and my uncles would often bring them home, packed in a paper bag with tell tale signs of oil spots and an aura of fried food around them. This delicacy was not available in the town we lived and so after a year's wait, the breaded fish fry in Calcutta seemed as magical as a snowflake to the child in the tropics.

When I asked my readers on Facebook, to nominate a Bengali dish to represent "F" in "A-Z of Bengali cuisine", a huge number said Fish Fry. Totally after my heart. This delightful and delicious example of the Anglo-Indian influence on Bengali cooking definitely deserves to be featured in "F".

The Anglo-Bangla Fish Fry

However I noticed that a substantial number of votes in the same thread went for "Fish Orly" Some were more specific and said "Bijoli Grill's Fish Orly". Now Fish Orly, is a batter fried fish preparation which I had never been particularly fond of. I am not a Kolkata veteran and the few times I have tried the "Bijoli Grill Fish Orly" at Nandan, I have not been blown off my feet. Maybe it is just me but I found "fish orly" greasy and not a match to the crunchy breaded "fish fry".I am sure, I ate fish orly at the wrong places all the time, and that is the reason never really appreciated this masterpiece.

At that time I had no idea what an "orly" was supposed to be, but cooking makes you learn a lot of things and only last week I learned that -- "À l'Orly is a French cooking term used to describe a preparation method usually used with fish fillets. The fish is usually a white fish such as sole, perch or cod.The fillets are skinned, battered and deep fried."

By the early 90's "fish orly" and "fish butter fry" (probably a mispronounced "fish batter fry") had shoved "fish fry" off the Bengali wedding menus. Bijoli Grill caterers were primarily responsible for introducing Fish Orly to the Bengali palate and most people loved it . They raved about it. The only thing I liked was the rolling of the french sounding name on my tongue. It made me feel oddly Parisian without an ounce of idea that "orly" was a French cooking term. I was clearly the square peg.

After the Facebook comments however, I decided to look up the hoo-haa over "Fish Orly". The technique sounded pretty simple. I had some swai filet in the freezer waiting to go in the oven. All else looked good, so instead of the oven, the fish's fate were decided in the orly. "If the Universe conspires and so forth..." .

I marinated the fish almost same as in a Fish Fry, a tad simpler actually. Then for the batter, I used an amalgamation of recipes on the internet for "batter fried fish". Some suggested corn flour but I skipped it. Flour, eggs, water, baking soda was it. Maybe a little more of the baking soda would have made the coating more airy but I decided to stick to a pinch. On a cold winter evening, the hot fried fish tasted pretty good. The girls loved it to the hilt. I still found it oily and realized that it tastes best when had right off the fryer.

Maybe that is why I never liked it in all those years ?

Fish Batter Fry or Fish Orly

I had fillets of Swai cut in 10 pieces. Each piece was about a 3"x 2" piece or smaller. You can use fillet of fish like Bhetki if in India or Cod, Tilapia when Bhetki is not available.

Make a paste of
2-3 fat cloves of garlic,
1 tbsp of peeled & chopped ginger,
2 green chili
with little vinegar. This is the paste that will be used to marinate the fish.

Alternately marinate with
1 tbsp of ginger paste(homemade)
1 tbsp garlic paste

Put the fish pieces in one single layer in a shallow bowl. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste on them.

Marinade the fish pieces with
the paste from step 2,
1 tbsp of vinegar, 
squeeze of a quarter of lime
Make sure that all of the fish pieces are nicely coated with the marinade

Cover & refrigerate overnight. If in a hurry, half an hour to an hour is fine.

For the batter

In a bowl sift
1 Cup of All-Purpose Flour/Maida
a pinch of baking soda(approx. 1/4 tsp)
salt to taste
pepper powder to taste

To it add
1 egg beaten
1 Cup of  Water
1 tsp of vegetable oil

Whisk to make a smooth batter like you would for pancakes. Keep the batter aside for 10 minutes

Now heat enough oil for deep frying

Dip each piece of fish in the batter to coat and then deep fry in hot oil. Keep the heat to medium-high during frying. Fry each side for about 3 minutes each until the fish gets a golden coat.

Eat 'em hot.



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Quick and Healthy Butter Chicken -- faux but easy

I have been planning to write about Fall, about Fall in New Hampshire, about Halloween but it seems I am seriously lagging. I will write about all of that when I get a little time but today let me do this post, only because this very easy and quick butter chicken is an absolute favorite with my daughters. Well, they actually like this Butter Paneer more but since this one has a similar gravy, they nod their head in unison and agree to put it on their favorite list.

Now, I have said many times about Big Sis's aversion to eat chicken. Lately I have realized that her aversion is not because she is concerned about animal welfare neither because of any high moral grounds(don't ask me). She will eat chicken if I am using small pieces of chicken breast which have been made into a Chicken 65 or Chilli Chicken. Actually she will be more than glad to eat these dishes, at home or outside. She will also eat the chicken kababs I make for the egg roll. Yes, amazing. The bottomline is she will eat bite size pieces of chicken breast or tenderloin when cooked with enough spices.Honestly, who wouldn't?

After the dry chicken dishes, this butter paneer is another favorite of hers. With due respect to chefs of "Moti Mahal" who are held responsible for this calamity, that is loved so much across the globe that the face of Indian Cuisine in the West is the Butter Chicken, I post my recipe today. I usually balk when people take traditional recipes and turn it up side down or leave out important ingredients but I also practice the fact that  "In my kitchen, I will cook what works for me and what my daughters will like".

So here is my disclaimer.

Kolkata Egg Chicken Roll -- Quick-easy version

IBM's Watson is being consulted by chefs to suggest new and exciting recipes. It can help in situations where you have people with dietary restrictions or in case of food shortage. Given a set of ingredients and the person's dietary restrictions Watson apparently creates and suggests recipe, by analyzing the key flavor compounds in the ingredients.

I am very very piqued to send off an e-mail to Watson with an ingredient list that reads
1.Frozen Parathas preferably Malaysian Parathas
2.Eggs
3.Onion
4.Green Chillies
5.Chicken

And the dietary instructions would read "For people whose senses have been assaulted with such a wide range of tastes and flavor that it is hard to surprise them".

What recipe do you think Watson would suggest given these requirements ?

But we don't need to send him(or is it a her) an e-mail as we all know what this will churn up.

Of course the quick and easy version of Kolkata Style Egg Roll or Kolkata Style Egg Chicken Roll.

Even a decade back, I wouldn't think of using any other name for it other than the simple "Egg Roll" or "Egg Chicken Roll". But I add the "Kolkata Style" just to make sure that you do not confuse it with the Spring Rolls which have gained popularity as Egg Rolls in American Chinese cuisine.

Honestly, I wouldn't even call them Kati Rolls as that was not a common nomenclature in the era I grew up."Roll Khaabi?" or "Roll Khabo" was the common lingo. Now I hear that the rolls at Nizam's were called Kati Rolls as the kabab was made in bamboo skewers also called "kathi" in Bengali.

Egg Rolls and Egg-Chicken Rolls are the most popular of all street foods in Kolkata. In fact "phuchka"(golgappa) and "egg roll" were the only street food that I was allowed to eat as an angst-y teenager. "Phuchka" was more of a girly kind of a thing and though some of my friends survived on a diet of "phuchka" and "tak water"(sour tamarind water), I wasn't one of them. When it came to egg roll it was another story. I can give anything for the authentic egg roll.

Even now when I go back home, the first thing I reach out for after the jet lag period is the egg roll at the street corner. That upsets my now mollycoddled tummy, I take entroquinols and after the dosage is done, again reach out for the egg roll.

All egg rolls or egg chicken rolls are not created equal and so do not spoil your senses by chomping on a egg roll at a tom-dick-harry place. If in Kolkata go out with a connoisseur to the right place. Hot Kati on the corner of Park Street was my personal favorite. Their rolls were oh so good. My Baba used to get egg roll from a place near home (some branch of Rahmania) which was also great. D's town has its own favorite egg roll stall and they swear by it.Every para(neighborhood) has their own famous egg roll counter and also their very own famous phuchkawala and you need to know the locals for that information.

I have been away from the country for a long time and I hear there are many famous "roll er dokan" across the state. All over India, this is now famous as "Kati Roll". Even NYC boasts of its own Kati Roll Company. If you have a "Roll er dokan" near your house, I would suggest you head straight for it to get your fix.

But, a sad but exciting "but",if you do not have anything like that, then resort to the husband-man's brilliant invention of Egg Roll with Malaysian Paratha. It is easy, quick and super delicious. For Watson's clients with calorie restrictions, I would suggest usage of whole wheat chapati or tortilla. However, in those cases, do not call it a "Kolkata Style Egg Roll". Please.

First we will prep the chicken

Cut 1 lb of chicken breast or chicken tenderloin in bite size pieces.

Marinate the chicken in
1/4th cup of hung yogurt( Put regular yogurt on a strainer and strain the excess whey to give a creamy yogurt)
2 tsp of Garlic paste
1 tsp of Ginger paste
2 tsp of tandoori masala(I use Rajah brand)
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp of homemade Garam Masala
 for at least an hour.
I usually do it overnight so that when it is dinner time next evening, I already have something in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to make the egg rolls, take out the chicken. Add 2 tsp of melted butter or regular cooking oil and mix together.

Now pre-heat oven to 350F.

Put the chicken pieces on an oven rack with a drip tray below it. The drip tray ensures to catch the drippings and thus prevents any oven mess.

Cook the chicken in the oven for about 20-30 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking make the egg roll

Pictorial instructions

Buy Malayasian Paratha. Well, I mean you must have already bought it so take it out from freezer. This is really IMPORTANT. The quality of the Paratha plays an important part in egg roll. If making your own paratha, make the dough with Maida(All Purpose Flour) and enough shortening so that the paratha is very soft and pliable, You can use tortilla, whole wheat roti or the regular parathas, but it WILL NOT taste the same. The Malaysian parathas are very soft and make perfect rolls

Heat a tawa or a griddle on the stove. Put the paratha and cook both sides. Remove and keep aside

Beat one egg + 1 tbsp whole milk + little salt + little pepper

Smear the tawa/griddle/frying pan with little oil and pour the egg. Spread it out in a circle.

Once the egg is a little cooked on the edges, put the cooked paratha on top

When the edges of the egg starts browning flip the paratha + egg.Give it a couple of seconds.

Remove and assemble the filing. The filling goes only on the egg side.The standard filing for a Kolkata egg roll is thinly sliced red onions, thinly chopped green chili and thinly sliced cucumber. Squirt a little lime juice on them and put the filling on the center. Add tomato ketchup in a thin squiggly line along the center. The ketchup is debatable but I do like it on mine.
Note: I usually chop the onion and green chilli and let them sit in a tsp of lime juice while the paratha is getting done.

For Egg-Chicken Roll

Make the egg roll as above.

Now heat very little oil in a frying pan. Add thin slices of onion to it. Also add the chicken which by now is done in the oven. Saute till onion is soft. Make sure chicken is cooked through. Squeeze some lime juice on the chicken.

Assemble the filling. On the egg side of the paratha, add the chicken, fried onions, some raw onions and green chilli. Add a dash of Ketchup and Chilli sauce.

Place the whole thing on wax paper or newspaper or foil and start rolling from one end. When the roll has been wrapped, tuck in the bottom end of the paper.

Enjoy.

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