Fish Tikka with Rock-Fish

The latest result for my quest for finding local replacements for Indian food ingredients is rock-fish. I have been using rock-fish instead of bhetki with good success. Fish tikka with rock-fish worked really well. As my daughter puts it “rock fish really rocks”.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. fish fillets cut into 2” by 2” squares (fish like bhetki,rock-fish or cod)
• 1 medium sized red onions cut into big cubes 
• 1 tsp. garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp. ginger paste
• 3tbsp. thick plain yogurt
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp. chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp. chicken tandoori masala or garam masala
• 2 tbsp. besan (Chickpea flour)
• 1 tsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
• Mustard oil
• 1 tsp. ghee (Clarified Butter)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Marinate the fish with lime juice and salt for 15 minutes and then wash them thoroughly. Pat them dry.

Dry roast besan on low heat till the raw smell goes away. Be careful to not burn it.

In a bowl take yogurt and one by one add ginger garlic paste, dry roasted besan, tandoori masala, chopped cilantro, salt and sugar. Beat it with a hand blender till it is free of any lumps.

Now heat 1tbsp. mustard oil in a pan and add Kashmiri red chili powder to it. Immediately turn off the heat. Stir with a spoon till it releases its color in the oil.

Add this chili oil to the fish along with yogurt mixture. Keep it marinated for 2 – 3 hrs. This chili oil will give the tikka a nice color.

Skewer the fish cubes alternately with the onions and brush it with ghee. You can either grill it on micro grill combination mode in your microwave for 15 minutes or you can use your stove top skillet to grill it. It will take around 5 – 10 minutes on stove top. Once done you can increase the heat to give them a charred effect.

Sprinkle some chat masala and serve with green chutney.