Name: Lahori fish (In chickpea batter and ajwain seeds)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: Serves 4–6
Cuisine: Pakistani
Ingredients: 50 ml/2 fl oz/scant ¼ cup corn oil; 100 ml/3½ fl oz/scant ½ cup rice water (made by boiling 1 tbsp of rice in 120 ml/4 fl oz/½ cup water, straining and reserving the water, or 100 ml/3½ fl oz/scant ½ cup water mixed with 1 tsp cornflour/cornstarch); ½ tsp red chilli flakes (or more if you like); ½ tsp ajwain (carom seeds); 1 tsp dry-roasted cumin seeds; 2 tbsp rice flour; 100 g/3½ oz/generous 1 cup gram flour; 1 tsp salt; ½ tsp ground turmeric; juice of ½ lemon; 4–6 haddock fillets

Preparation info

Serves
4–6

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
30 min

Appears in

Summers Under the Tamarind Tree

By Sumayya Usmani

Published 2016

About

Summer holidays spent with my cousins in Lahore were always a food adventure. This is a city that never stops eating, and one of the most authentic street meals from Lahore’s foodie hotspot is this lightly battered chickpea flour fish. The trick to a crispy coating is dipping the fish in rice water (that’s the starchy water that’s drained off after boiling rice) instead of tap water. An alternative is to mix a teaspoon of cornflour in tap water for a similar effect.