Kucho Machher Bora (Small Fish Fritters)

We consume pretty much last bit of a fish. Also, in Bengal, you can have fish of different sizes that you can cook in different ways like frying them whole, making a curry out of fish head, making a curry with vegetables, making kebabs or even making fritters with very small fishes or fish pastes. Since we don't get those familiar fishes here I tried these small fish fritters which unbelievably tasted pretty similar to the onion fritters that we get in the street food stalls in Calcutta. 

Ingredients:
Silver Fish 2 cups
1 tbsp mustard oil
1 tsp vinegar
1 cup cilantro chopped
2/3 cup onion chopped
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 pinch ajinomoto
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp garam masala powder
1 tbsp cumin powder
1/4 cup black pepper ground or to taste
2 tsp red chili powder or to taste
1 cup mashed potato
Salt and sugar to taste
2 tbsp gram flour
2 tbsp rice flour
1 egg (optional)
Oil for frying

Recipe:

• Wash the silver fish, squeezing all the excess water
• Mix all of the above ingredients except rice flour and gram flour
• Add the flours at the end as needed to bring it to the right consistency, you might want to add more if you think your batter is too runny or less if manageable
• Add 1 egg if the batter looks too dry
• Heat about a cup of oil in a pan for deep frying
• Make small flattened balls with the fish mixture

Fry them on medium heat, making sure fish is cooked from inside