Andhra fish fry recipe
By Swasthi on August 7, 2022, Comments, Jump to Recipe
Andhra Fish fry recipe – Simple fish fry recipes made on griddle or tawa. There are so many ways a fish can be fried, I have shared 2 recipes in this post. The Andhra fish fry recipe made from curried fish is at the second half of this post.

Method 1 – simple fish fry
1. Add some salt to fish and wash it. Drain water completely. I have used a single fillet weighing 250 grams. You can increase the quantity of ingredients proportionately if you are using more fish. Do not use too much masala powder, red chili powder and ginger garlic paste for marination. It will taste bitter. For added spice, sprinkle more spice powders at step 5.
2. Make a paste of salt, red chili powder, garam masala, turmeric and lemon juice. Marinate with this. Set aside for just 10 minutes.
3. Heat a heavy bottom pan with 1 tbsp. oil or ghee. If deep frying use oil. If pan frying, to get an Andhra taste, use ghee. To get a kerala taste use coconut oil. But any oil will do as well.

4. You can shallow fry, deep fry or pan fry, use oil accordingly. I suggest using a small pan, so less oil can be used to fry.

5. When the oil becomes just hot enough, place the fish in the oil and fry on a medium flame. After 3 to 4 minutes flip it and then repeat frying. When it is almost done, add some curry leaves and fry. It adds flavour to the fish. If you are pan frying and want to make a spicy fish fry, sprinkle more of red chili powder, pepper powder or garam masala now (not for deep fry or shallow fry).

6. Drain it on an absorbent paper. Switch off the stove. fish fry is ready. Garnish with onion wedges and serve.

Method 2 – Andhra fish fry
There are several versions of the Andhra fish fry recipe, but this is how it is done in my family for several decades. This recipe beats all the other recipes that I have tried and tasted, in terms of taste and effort.
The fish is curried first and is refrigerated to soak or marinate in the gravy for almost 8 hours or till the next day and then it is ghee roasted. It can even be prepared with left overs. We make the fish pulusu in large quantities and refrigerate. The next 48 hours, we use up the pieces to make the ghee roast and finish the pulusu too.
Before I move on to the recipe, let me tell, why this tastes great. Since the pieces are soaked in the curry for several hours, it absorbs all the flavors and taste of the tamarind, red chili powder and garam masala. Apart from this, the pieces are roasted in ghee, large quantity of curry leaves and freshly ground pepper which enhances the flavors and taste. It is a must try in the winters.
*I have never tried this with salmon and may not be suitable for this recipe. Adding garam masala, red chili powder and ginger garlic paste is optional. You want to spice it up more, you can use them.
Ingredients
2 Fish pieces soaked in curry or pulusu for at least 8 hours
2 sprigs of curry leaves
¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper (coarse is preferred)
Salt very little (it is already salted in the curry)
⅛ tsp. Ginger garlic paste
1 to 2 tbsp. Ghee
Red chili powder as needed (optional)
Garam masala as needed (optional)

Instructions
Remove the pieces from the gravy and set aside. If you wish you can add some coriander leaves from the pulusu.
Heat a heavy bottom nonstick pan with ghee.
Add curry leaves and fry till they turn crisp.
Add ginger garlic paste and sauté.
Increase the flame to highest. Add fish and sprinkle little salt and pepper. Fry for around 2 mins.
Reduce the flame to medium. Fry for around 4 to 6 mins.
Add garam masala, chili powder if desired. Mix well and off the heat.
Serve with curry and rice.
Find more fish fry recipes on the blog
Crispy fish fry (restaurant sytle)
Amritsari tawa fish fry (pan fried)
Apollo fish fry
Lemon pepper fish

Andhra fish fry
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- Oil or ghee as needed
- 250 grams fish fillet or pieces
- Salt as needed
- 2 to 3 pinches turmeric
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice or as needed
- ¾ tsp ginger garlic paste
- ¼ to 3/4 tsp red chili powder
- ¼ to 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
Instructions
- Apply salt to fish and rinse it well. Drain thoroughly. Mix all the ingredients except oil. Apply to the fish. Keep this aside for 10 minutes. It absorbs flavors well.
- Heat a small pan with oil or ghee. When the oil turns hot enough fry it for about 3 to 4 minutes. Then flip it to the other side. Fry again till it is fried completely. Add curry leaves and fry until crisp. Drain to a kitchen tissue.
- Serve with onion wedges.
Notes
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
For more Fish recipes, check
Fish curry
About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
Thank you for such a delicious and yet simple recipe, Swasthi! Love the clarity in your recipes.
Prepared this awesome fish fry for Saturday lunch…it was excellent!!!!! Everyone loved it at home. Can’t stop thanking you Swasthi. You’re a boon to us.
Welcome Tanu
Glad to know! Thank you so much!
Quick, Simple and Delicious!!
Thank you
Very good recipe, i have making this way and fish fry have been very tasty. Thanks!
You are welcome!
Glad you liked it
I love all your recipes, especially Sambhar and Fish fry recipes. The best part is your recipes are simple and easy too cook, nothing elaborate and yet the taste and aroma is mouth watering.
Thank you so much Samuel!
Glad you like the recipes.
Hi
Do you think this would be nice served with a cauliflower and pumpkin dahl?
Do u have a fish recipe suggestion that would work with dahl?
Hi Nicole,
Yes this goes well with pumpkin dal or any simple dal like this dal fry, not sure about cauliflower.
No sweetie. Serve it with naan or plain rice.
I cannot express how much I love this recipe – I am a person that usually ate fish once a year and thanks to this recipe I am enjoying fish every week. I did not deviate from the recipe at all and absolutely love the taste! I recommend using Basa fillets if you can’t get the author’s recommendation.
Thank you so much Swasthi for this delicious recipe
Welcome Imran,
So glad to know you liked the recipe. Thanks for your suggestion of using basa. For a variation you can also check this Tawa Amritsari fish fry. I guess you will like that one too. Very aromatic and tastes good.Thanks for the comment.
Thanks for the suggestion Swasthi, will give it a try!
Agreed!
Hi swasthi, we usually eat vaaliga, koramenu like dat in our native place, but in singapore unable to find which fish tastes good plz suggest me
Hi Lakshmi,
Yes i too had this problem. Most fishes we get in Singapore are farmed so they really don’t taste that good. So we eat only once in few months. We buy vanjaram fillets known as batang. They are good. You can try in mustafa or fair price. Somehow I dont find any of these good for curry, so i usually pan fry them or make fish biryani or fish ghee rice. Hope this helps
Thank u swasthi. One of my friend also told vanjaram tastes good ( she always use to fry) but my husband likes to eat chepala pulusu which tastes same like his mothers recipe. I tried with so many fishes no use.finally i told stop nonveg n become vegetarian like me, i will make different recipes with veg ?
Hi Lakshmi,
🙂
I heard in tekka market we can find the kind of fishes suitable for pulusu. May be your husband can check there
Hi Swasthi, would Hilsa work for this recipe
Hi Ananya,
Yes it works
This is a good recipes sent your all recipes to me I am Darsh Nagpal
Thanks. I have added your mail id to subscription list. You will receive all my recipes posted from now onwards
I made it in twenty to thirty minutes with King Fish steaks. It was just wonderful. I think it is a great Receipe. I tried this for the first time without Tamarind. I do not think Tamirind is needed. It is great.
Very good and informative posts icing on the cake is all are simple and easy to make at home by anyone. Great job
Thank yo so much
Very nice and yummy dishes pls share the delicious veg and non veg recipe s
Thank you
Welcome Mrs. Meena
Thank you ,
Amazing recipe I just loved it.
Welcome and thanks for trying
Fish fry sooooo tasty thank you
welcome and thanks
Went thro’ some of the recipes which seemed interesting;impressed;thank you.
Welcome Major. P. Haridas
Glad to know you liked the recipes. Thank you
Yummy
Thank you
It’s very tasty and it has combinations of everything sour,salty ,spicy.
Thanks Lavanya
Happy to know you liked it.
Good
Thanks Vainavi
Nice
Good !
Fish fry came out very tasty. We loved it. Easy to prepare.
Thanks Satya. Glad to know it came out tasty