Dear reader, the fact that I originally hail from one of the coastal regions of India largely contribute to the fact that my palate has developed significant affinity to all those recipes that feature seafood as one of the primary ingredients. So if you notice the quantity of recipes tilting more in favor of seafood recipes, you should not be surprised.
Last year when I visited Mangalore I was more than excited as the visit presented me an opportunity to try many exciting sea food recipes and my expectations were more than fulfilled. I feel that every region or state has so many recipes to offer that a short stay would never be able to do a justice to the culinary creations of that region.
We tried this Mangalorean gem during our short visit to Udupi at Kediyoor, a lavish food joint located perfectly in the heart of Udupi city. It is one of the oldest restaurants that, we were told, has existed for over two decades in Udupi. Let not the tag of “Over 2 decades old” deceive you, when you come looking for this place. They seem to have undergone a constant churning process and this place does not seem to be out of date. They boast of a separate veg and non-veg restaurants and a cake-shop to satiate your sweet tooth. We walked into non-veg section and were greeted by smiling and effervescent manager. Though the restaurant seemed to be fairly vacant, and we could have taken any seat, he escorted us to one of the tables nestled into the corners of the restaurant.
I had a question encircling my mind since I heard about this restaurant. To put my inquisitive mind to rest, I posed the query to manager when he appeared to take our order. I asked him about the meaning of the word “Kediyoor”. Though I believe the essence of the meaning of a word and its impact are lost when they are translated, but kediyoor, as was explained to us, relates to Lord Krishna and his being a go-pala (one who takes care of cows- cowherd). Restaurant boasted of some very exhaustive menu which included kebabs of Lucknow, biryanis of Hyderabad and Chinese dishes. However, eating some kebabs, tikkas or biryanis did not make sense to us when we were visiting the place for some local food experience. So we shunned the menu and decided to seek the manager’s expertise with local food. The dishes that he proposed we order were “Mangalorean Masala Fish Fry”, “Chicken Sukka” and Kori Rotti“and we duly obliged. Before the meal had arrived, we were deliberating about our next order but the portions of our meal were large, really large and it put all the deliberations to rest.
Mangalorean Masala fish fry was prepared with lady fish, coated with masala paste subtly flavored with spices offering a sour and spicy taste to the dish. The fish was fried enough to have light crisp outer covering with moist and juicy flesh inside. The flavors of spices in the masala had surprisingly seeped through the outer covering and reached through the insides thus making it enjoyable experience.
After we were back in our kitchen with the taste of fish fry still lingering on our taste buds, and with inputs from some of our Mangalorean friends we were able to replicate this taste in our kitchen.
Let’s not delay the imminent recipe and jump straight into it. Here we go.
Find more sea food recipes
Find other Mangalorean recipes
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 3
- 400 grams Indian mackerel (Bangda/Bangude)
- 2 and ½ tsp rice flour
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- salt to taste
- Coconut oil to fry the fish
- Let's start with masala.In a bowl, take rice flour, turmeric powder.red chili powder, salt and vinegar.Mix all the ingredients.
- Let's apply the masala on mackerel fish.
- We will keep the masala coated fish in refrigerator (not in freezer compartment) for an hour.
- After an hour, heat 2 tbsp coconut oil in a pan.Place the fish in a pan and fry on low flame.
- Underside gets cooked in about 4 minutes.Flip over to cook from other side.Fish should be cooked brown and crisp from both sides.
- Take the cooked fish out from the pan.
- Delicious Mangalorean Fish Fry is ready to be served
Click here to watch recipe video
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