Follow these simple tips to cook fish perfectly

If you keep the flame high while frying fish, only the edges may get crispier while the insides remain undercooked. Photo: Chef Arun Vijayan

Cooking the perfect fish curry is often deemed an art in Kerala! Even a slight difference in the recipe or the quantity of the ingredients could drastically alter the flavour of it. Besides, the taste of the dish depends on the quality of the fish too. However, you could make the perfect fish curry or fried fish if you are careful about a few things. Here are some tips that could help you cook delicious fish dishes.

Do not overcook
Fish gets cooked pretty quickly. Overcooking the fish could ruin its unique flavour. Besides, if the fish is overcooked, the flesh may crumble and get mixed in the gravy. Some fish may even become drier and tasteless.

Cook on medium flame
Cooking fish on high flame isn’t the ideal way as the flesh wouldn’t get cooked evenly. If you keep the flame high while frying fish, only the edges may get crispier while the insides remain undercooked. So, it is better to cook fish on medium flame.

Tempering
Adding a tempering of mustard seeds, curry leaves and aromatics would enhance the natural flavour of the fish.

Clean the grille
Grilled fish is extremely delicious and healthy too. However, cooking fish without cleaning the grille would affect its taste. Besides, it could cause many diseases like food poisoning.

Types of fish
It must be noted that each kind of fish should be cooked in unique ways. Some fish taste best when fried while some others are perfect to be cooked as curries. Do not hesitate to experiment with textures and flavours if you are trying a new fish.

Clean properly
Cleaning the fish properly is the first step before cooking it in ways that you prefer. The fillets could be washed in normal water and wiped using paper towels. Make sure that the intestines and the scales are removed. If you are using frozen fish, then ensure that the fish reaches room temperature before it is cooked. 

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