Kane/Nogli Rava Fry - Lady Fish coated in Semolina and Fried

Kane (pronounced as kaa-nay) is a delicacy in coastal Karnataka. I remember whenever guests would drop by our home in Kundapura, Annu (dad) would buy kilos of fresh catch and amma would prepare Nogli Ambat (Fish curry) and/or this Rava fry. We children would be served first and always given smaller and lesser pieces to ensure the guests always got enough good pieces. When we would bombard our wrath filled looks at Amma at this injustice, she would politely and smirkly say "You always get to eat this fish. But they never do." I even recall one of the guests saying that his Dad always told him "Son, before you die make sure you have eaten Kane in Kundapur". During Diwali the price of this fish in Coastal belt would sky rocket. Coz people have a custom where they have an oil bath. The fish is also given an oil bath where it is deep fried. After marriage, I only cherished the memories of this favourite of mine and never had a chance to indulge in its divine taste when in Kolkata. Now that I am in Chennai and Abbas is in Bangalore, he looked for this fish in the markets and located a vendor who sells it. Finally my inner soul's thirst for this fish was quenched after 4 long years.

Ingredients

5 Lady fish - clean and make slits on both sides

Rava / Semolina for coating

Oil for frying

 For marination
2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
3/4 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp lemon juice
salt to tase

Method

Marinate the fish with ingredients called for marination so that the masala has penetrated into the slits well. Keep aside for an hour in the refrigerator.

Coat the marinated fish in rava. This fish could be deep fried. (In that case keep the rava coated fish in refreigerator for atleast an hour, so that most of the rava sticks to the fish even when deep fried.) I fried the fish in a non stick tava with less oil, tatsted great this way too.

Four years of 'judaai' made me gobble 5 whole fish at a shot and I still yearned for more.

Read about this fish in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elopidae