SPICY BEER-BATTERED FISH BITES

Ingredients

• 190 ml rice flour

• 1 Kg firm-fleshed white fish fillets, skinned

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced

• 1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, finely grated

• 3 Tbsp lemon juice

• salt

• black pepper, milled

• oil for deep frying

• 180 ml chickpea (channa) flour

• 2 tsp cumin

• 2 tsp ground coriander

• 2 tsp turmeric, ground

• 1 tsp red chilli powder (to taste)

• 1 330ml can ice-cold lager

• lemon wedges to serve

• flaky sea salt

• 1 120g tub tzatziki

Cooking Instructions

1. First make the batter. Sift 180ml of rice flour and 180ml 0f chickpea flour into a mixing bowl and add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, red chilli powder, black pepper and 1 1/2 tsp of salt. Gently pour the beer over the dry ingredients and whisk lightly until you have a smooth, slightly puffy batter about the thickness of cream. Don’t over-mix the batter. Place in the fridge for 10 minutes.

2. Remove any bones from the fish and cut into 2cm square cubes. Put the cubes in a bowl and add the garlic, ginger and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and toss well to combine. Set aside for five minutes.

3. Warm a platter in the oven. Heat the oil in a small, deep saucepan, until it reaches about 160°C. Put a little rice flour on a plate. Roll each fish cube in rice flour, dust well to remove the excess and, using a fork or a pair of tongs, dip the fish into the batter so that it is well coated.

4. Gently lower the nuggets into the oil (five at a time is about right) and cook for a minute and a half to two minutes, or until puffy, crisp and golden. Fish the nuggets out of the oil in the order in which you put them in, using a slotted spoon, and drain well on kitchen paper. Place them in the warm oven while you fry the rest.

5. Serve piping hot with lemon wedges and tzatziki, for dipping

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