Rava fried fish is an Indian style fried fish recipe with a crispy semolina or rava breading. It is a delicious way to make fried fish. I have used Catla or carp fish steaks here.
But any firm fish steaks like Seer, Pomfret, king fish etc. are suited for this recipe. The rava fried fish turns out perfectly cooked and flaky inside with a tasty rava coating outside. Cooks evenly and perfectly in the air fryer.
You have to try this classic coastal dish at home, and it will soon become your favorite. You can also shallow fry it the traditional way with the same recipe.
You may also like: Bengali Fish Curry, Goan Prawn Curry, Pomfret Fry, Kerala style Fish Fry
Ingredients
Fish fillets – 1 lb. Catla steaks or fillets or about 450 gm.
First marinade: Turmeric powder and salt are used to marinate the steaks.
Second marinade
Red chili powder – I have used Kashmiri chili powder for colour and red chili powder for heat.
Ginger-garlic paste – This is used for flavour.
Spices: Pepper, turmeric, ground coriander and salt is used
Cilantro and Curry leaves: Finely chopped curry leaves and cilantro are used in the marinade
Coconut Oil: This is used for authentic taste and also for keeping the fish moist
Lemon juice: This is used for balancing flavours and tartness
For the coating
Rava (semolina) – ½ cup is used for the delicious crust
Oil spray – to ensure a golden, crispy finish
Instructions
Wash the fish fillets and pat them dry. Apply turmeric and salt and keep aside for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix together the ingredients of second marinade which included ginger garlic paste, two types of red chili powder, turmeric, pepper, salt, lemon juice, finely chopped cilantro and curry leaves and coconut oil along with salt.
This marinade is thick. Rub it all over the fish steaks on both the sides to ensure that they are evenly coated. Marinate for about 15 minutes.
Preheat air fryer at 180C for 5 minutes. Meanwhile dip each fish fillet or steak in rava and spread some rava on top so that you got a nice crunchy coating on top of the fish.
Rava helps to keep the marinade on top of the fish and also provides a lovely coating.
Keep it aside. Repeat for all steaks.
In the preheated air fryer basket, add in the fillets, as many as can fit without overlap. I could fit the entire batch.
Air fry at 180C or 360F for 10 minutes. At 5 minutes mark, brush the fillets with a little oil. This gives them a really crispy golden appearance just like fried fish.
Then continue to cook till the coating is golden and the fish is cooked. Depending on the size of fish fillets, you may take slightly less or more time so keep an eye towards the end of cooking time.
Your rava fish fry in air fryer is ready. Enjoy it with a green chutney and with lemon wedges.
You can also choose to shallow fry these rava fish fillets in medium hot oil they are crispy and golden on both side.
Expert Tips
1. This recipe works well for firm, fleshy fish.You can use seer, pomfret, Rohu, Catla fillets here.
2. Adjust marinade spice as per taste. I have used both red chili powder (cayenne) and pepper as I like this to be spicy. Skip cayenne for lower heat.
3. Curry leaves really give it a signature coastal flavour so don’t skip it.
4. You can use any vegetable oil in place of coconut oil, but coconut oil is again more authentic South Indian.
5. Do not overcook the fish or it will not taste good. Make sure it is well cooked and flaky inside.
Storage Tips: Store leftover fish in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat in the air fryer at 350°F (175°C) for 3-4 minutes to restore crispiness.
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Rava Fried Fish in Air fryer
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Fish steaks or 500 gm.
First marinade
- ½ tsp. turmeric
- ½ tsp. salt
Second Marinade
- 1.5 tbsp. Ginger Garlic paste
- 1 tsp. Kashmiri chili powder or paprika
- ½ tsp. red chili powder or cayenne
- 1 tsp. pepper
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 sprig curry leaves finely chopped
- 1 tbsp. cilantro finely chopped
- ¼ tsp. turmeric
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
Coating
- ½ cup semolina or fine rava
Instructions
- Wash the fish fillets and pat them dry. Apply turmeric and salt and keep aside for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix together the ingredients of second marinade which included ginger garlic paste, two types of red chili powder, turmeric, pepper, salt, lemon juice, finely chopped cilantro and curry leaves and coconut oil along with salt.
- This marinade is thick. Rub it all over the fish steaks on both the sides to ensure that they are evenly coated. Marinate for about 15 minutes.
- Preheat air fryer at 180C for 5 minutes. Meanwhile dip each fish fillet or steak in rava and spread some rava on top so that you got a nice crunchy coating on top of the fish. Rava helps to keep the marinade on top of the fish and also provides a lovely coating.
- Keep it aside. Repeat for all steaks.
- In the preheated air fryer basket, add in the fillets, as many as can fit without overlap. I could fit the entire batch.
- Air fry at 180C or 360F for 10 minutes. At 5 minutes mark, brush the fillets with a little oil. This gives them a really crispy golden appearance just like fried fish.
- Then continue to cook till the coating is golden and the fish is cooked. Depending on the size of fish fillets, you may take slightly less or more time so keep an eye towards the end of cooking time.
- Your rava fish fry in air fryer is ready. Enjoy it with a green chutney and with lemon wedges.
- You can also choose to shallow fry these rava fish fillets in medium hot oil they are crispy and golden on both side.
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