Netholi-Nethli Meen Fry/Anchovy Fry-Kerala Style

Hi all, it's been a long time i posted here something. I have been going through various things in life and now it was because of your likes and queries to my previous posts i thought of a reentry.Thanks everyone:). Finally i'm here with another easy recipe.

Netholi Porichathu is my all time favorite. Already i posted a recipe with anchovy. The below recipe comes with slighter variations.

Ingredients:

Anchovy fish/Smelt fish/Natholi	1 lb
Red chilly powder	5 tspoon
Turmeric Powder	1/4 tspoon
Pepper Powder	1 tspoon
Ginger	1 inch piece
Garlic	4 cloves
Small Onion/Shallots	8
Lemon juice	2 tspoon
Coconut Oil/Cooking Oil	to fry
Salt	to taste
Curry leaves(optional)	1 sprig

Preparation:

(1) Wash and clean the fish. I removed the head and tail part using hand. Remove the guts from its belly using hand. Scale the body from tail to head in some sharp surface or using a butter knife. (Knife is not necessary for cleaning anchovies or smelt fish )Handle as per your convenience. Take the cleaned fish in a bowl. Add lemon juice and little salt to it. Mix once. Keep it aside for 5 minutes. This helps to get rid of the fishy smell.

(2) Take onion, ginger and garlic in a mixer and grind it. To this add chilly powder, turmeric powder,pepper powder,curry leaves and salt. Grind it again and make a fine paste by sprinkling 1 tspoon of water to it.

(3) Add the ground paste to  fish and mix well so that it coats well. Let it marinate for another 20 minutes. You can also cook without marination.

(4) Heat oil in a pan and add fish to it. Allow to fry by turning the fish once. Let it turns crispy. Cooking time depends on the vessel and heat used. Once cooked drain on kitchen tissue.

Your yummy and crispy fish fry is now ready.Enjoy…

Tips:

• The whole fish is edible. You can eat its bone too.
• Since anchovy is a small fish,  it tends to break easily while cleaning and cooking. Handle with care.
• Adding lemon juice helps to reduce the fishy smell.
• Cooking with coconut oil gives an authentic flavor.
• Adjust spiciness according to your tolerance level.