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    Amritsari Fish Pakora Recipe

    Last Updated On: Apr 8, 2025 by Aarthi

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    Fish Pakora made Amritsari Style. This delicious crispy fish fry is also known as Amritsari fish or Amritsar fish fry is a popular snack in Amritsar, Punjab which is also famous for its Chole & Aloo Kulcha. Delicate pieces of fish is coated in a spicy gram flour coating with spices and carom seeds and fried till crispy. Learn how to make crispy Amritsar fish pakora with step by step pictures with tips and tricks to get crunchy pakora coating.

    Amritsari Fish Pakora

    During our last trip to Amritsar, this is a popular dish and we ordered Amritsari fish fry quite a few times as well. We loved it so much and I wanted to recreate it at home. Finally I tried it few days back and it turned out perfect. This pakora is so easy to make, you just few ingredients to put together and finally you get a plate of crispy crunchy fish pakoras. The main flavouring for this pakoras are ajwain seeds also known as carom seeds and the final touch of chaat masala powder.

    Table of Contents

    • About Fish Pakora (Amritsari Fish Fry)
    • Amritsari Fish Ingredients
    • How to Make Amritsari Fish (Stepwise pictures)
    • Expert Tips
    • FAQ
    • 📖 Recipe Card
    • Fish Pakora | Amritsari Fish Pakora Recipe | Amritsari Fish Fry

    About Fish Pakora (Amritsari Fish Fry)

    Amritsari Fish is a lightly battered fish fry seasoned with Indian spices, ginger and garlic paste, and gram flour. It's crunchy and refreshing to eat. It works well as an appetiser. According to legend, fish pakora originated in Mughal kitchens during the reign of Emperor Akbar. This Amritsari fish is very different from my masala fish fry which is a pan fried fish from South India.

    The dish cannot be prepared with fresh or saltwater fish from the sea. It is critical to use Sole fish or Singhara to achieve the flavour and texture found in the authentic dish.

    It is easy to make this dish, all you need is some flaky white fish, marinate it with spices, lemon and ginger garlic paste. Just before frying coat them with gram flour, rice flour and cornstarch to get the crispy coating. Sprinkle with chaat masala once it comes out from the oil and serve with green chutney or mayonnaise.

    To get the crispy outer texture in a fish, coat them with the right flour. Mix of gram flour, cornstarch and rice flour will give you the perfect crunchy texture.

    Similar Fish Recipes to Try

    Fish Fry
    Mackeral Fish Fry
    Sardine Fish Fry
    Anchovies Fry
    Karimeen Pollichathu
    Crispy Fish & Chips

    Amritsari Fish Ingredients

    Fish - For this recipe, use boneless white fleshed fish which is flaky. Salmon, pollack, basa can be used. Make sure the fish is boneless for easy eating and pat it dry before adding marination for more flavour absorption.

    Ginger & Garlic - this adds aroma and flavour to the fish.

    Ajwain seeds - this is one of the most important flavour in this Amritsari fish. once fried it adds a smoky earthy flavour to pakoras.

    Kashmiri Chilli Powder - This chilli has a slightly smoky flavour. This powder is used in Indian cooking to add colour to dishes that don't require a lot of heat.

    Curd - makes the fish juicy and also helps with the binding.

    Vinegar - Vinegar or lemon juice acidity or sourness enhances the flavour of the fish and adds balance to a rich dish. It also helps remove the fishy smell.

    Gram flour - one of the main ingredient helps with the binding and adds flavour. This creates a thick coating over the dish which makes it moist and juicy.

    Cornflour & Rice Flour - this helps absorb moisture from the frying which also means a crispier coating.

    Chat masala - sprinkle this generously over the fried fish as soon as it comes out of the fryer. Adds a pungent and finger licking taste to the pakora.

    Tips & Tricks for Making Amritsari Fish Even Better

    Choosing Fish : picking the correct fish type is most important. use firm white fleshed fish. Make sure it is boneless, clean it well and pat it dry. Basa, salmon, king fish and pollock are best choice. I like to remove the skins from the fish since it makes the pakora soggy.

    Spices to use - combo of kashmiri chilli powder and turmeric is main. Kashmiri variety adds colour without making it spicy. You can also use some amchoor powder, roasted cumin powder and a little garam masala powder.

    Balancing Flavours - using curd, lemon juice or vinegar makes the dish fresh and tangy.

    Creating Crispy pakora - gram flour, cornstarch and rice flour gives the crispy coating for the fish. This creates a thick coating over the dish which makes it moist and juicy.

    Serving Suggestions - serve Amritsari fish fry immediately with green chutney or mayonnaise.

    How to Make Amritsari Fish (Stepwise pictures)

    Marinating Fish

    1)Use boneless white fleshed fish which is flaky. Salmon, pollack, basa can be used. Make sure the fish is boneless for easy eating and pat it dry before adding marination for more flavour absorption.

    2)Sprinkle salt all over the fish.

    3)Add in ginger garlic paste. This is my freshly ground ginger garlic which adds so much flavour. Check my homemade ginger garlic paste recipe.

    4)Add in your spice powders. I am using a mix of kashmiri chilli powder and regular chilli powder because I like my food spicy. but you can add only kashmiri chilli powder alone. Add in turmeric powder as well. Don't add too much else it may over power.

    5)Add in ajwain seeds. It is also known as carom seeds and in tamil "omam". Add very little else it may over power the entire fish.

    Pro Tip: This is one of the most important flavour, so don't skip that.

    6)Add in vinegar or lemon juice. You can add any one of the both. This adds freshness to the fish and also removes the fishy smell from it once fried.

    Crispy Coating for Amritsari Fish

    7)Add in gram flour. This helps with the binding.

    8)Now for the crispy coating, add in cornstarch and rice flour. If you don't have cornstarch you can skip that and add more rice flour.

    9)Add in few spoon of curd. Thick curd is best.

    10)Mix the fish with all the ingredients carefully. Don't over mix these, else the fish may break and fall apart. Set this aside for 5 minutes so we can heat up some oil.

    Frying Amritsari Fish

    11)Drop the fish in hot oil one by one and fry them on medium high heat for 3 to 4 minutes till it gets crispy. Make sure you fry them on medium high heat, too hot oil can burn the outer coating of the fish.

    12)Now the fish is almost fried and looking crispy. Use a slotted spoon to strain the fish from the oil.

    Serving Amritsari Fish Fry

    13)Place the crispy fried fish on some paper towel to remove the excess oil.

    14)Sprinkle the top with chaat masala. This step is optional but it adds so much flavour and taste to the fried fish.

    15)Serve immediately piping hot with some green chutney or mayonnaise.

    Expert Tips

    • For this recipe, use boneless white fleshed fish which is flaky. Salmon, pollack, basa can be used. 
    • Fish pakora is best when served hot. So marinate the fish in advance and fry fresh every time.
    • If you are planning to fry the fish later, skip adding all the flour into the fish. Add it just before frying and mix.
    • Fish pakora taste best when served hot with some green chutney. 

    FAQ

    Why is Amritsari fish famous?

    Like all deep fried food. Amritsari fish is a popular street food in punjab. It has a crispy exterior which taste so moist and flavourful with all spices and chat masala added. It is one of the most preferred appetizer in Amritsar region.

    Which fish is good for fish pakora?

    For this recipe, use boneless white fleshed fish which is flaky. Salmon, pollack, basa can be used. Make sure the fish is boneless for easy eating and pat it dry before adding marination for more flavour absorption.

    How many calories are in Amritsari fish fry?

    Single serving (one piece) of fish fry contains roughly around 120 calories.

    What is Amritsari fish made of?

    Amritsari Fish is a lightly battered fish fry seasoned with Indian spices, ginger and garlic paste, and gram flour. It's crunchy and refreshing to eat. It works well as an appetiser.

    More Fish Recipes

    • Village Syle Fish Curry Recipe
    • Fish Biryani Recipe
    • Meen Kuzhambu Recipe
    • Nethili Fry Recipe
    • African Fish Curry Recipe
    • Fish Pickle Recipe

    📖 Recipe Card

    Fish Pakora | Amritsari Fish Pakora Recipe | Amritsari Fish Fry

    Fish Pakora made Amritsari Style. This delicious crispy fish fry is also known as Amritsari fish pakora or Amritsar fish fry is a popular snack in Amritsar, Punjab which is also famous for its Chole & Aloo Kulcha. Delicate pieces of fish is coated in a spicy gram flour coating with spices and carom seeds and fried till crispy. Learn how to make crispy Amritsar fish pakora with step by step pictures with tips and tricks to get crunchy pakora coating.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Servings: 4 servings
    Calories: 194kcal

    Equipment

    • Mixing Bowl
    • Deep Fry Pot
    • Slotted Spoon

    Ingredients

    • 500 Grams Fish boneless, white fleshed fish
    • Oil for deep frying

    For Marination

    • 1 tbsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder
    • ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
    • 2 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
    • ½ tsp Carom Seeds | Ajwain Seeds
    • 3 tbsp Gram Flour | Besan
    • 2 tbsp Rice Flour
    • 2 tbsp Cornstarch
    • 1 tbsp Vinegar or Lemon Juice
    • 2 tbsp Curd | Yogurt
    • Salt to taste

    For Serving

    • 1 tsp Chaat Masala Powder

    Instructions

    • Take cleaned fish in a bowl. Make sure there is no water in the dish, if you want you can pat it dry using some paper towel. Add all the ingredients given for marination over the fish and mix gently. Leave the mix to sit for 5 minutes.
    • Heat oil for deep frying. Drop in fish one by one. Don't over crowd the pan. Fry the fish in batches till golden and crispy. Strain the fried fish using a slotted spoon onto some paper towel.
    • Sprinkle with chat masala powder. Serve Immediately with green chutney.

    Notes

    • For this recipe, use boneless white fleshed fish which is flaky. Salmon, pollack, basa can be used. 
    • Fish pakora is best when served hot. So marinate the fish in advance and fry fresh every time.
    • If you are planning to fry the fish later, skip adding all the flour into the fish. Add it just before frying and mix.
    • Fish pakora taste best when served hot with some green chutney. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1servings | Calories: 194kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 109mg | Potassium: 493mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 605IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Mention @yummytummyaarthi or tag #yummytummyaarthi!
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    If you have any questions not covered in this post and if you need help, leave me a comment or mail me @[email protected] and I’ll help as soon as I can.

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    More Amritsar Recipes to Explore

    • Aloo Kulcha Recipe
    • Aam Papad Recipe
    • Amritsari Chole Recipe - Amritsari Chana Masala

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    Aarthi

    About Aarthi

    Over the past few years I’ve been on a mission to find and create recipes that I can make from scratch. I hope you enjoy the recipes on this blog as they are tried and true from my kitchen to yours!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Anonymous

      at

      Hai aarthi,
      I like ur recipes. I've one doubt about making cake in microwave. Coz my microwave have some options like:
      Keep warm/convection
      Micro + convection
      Grill + micro
      Its onida.
      Can also tell me the bake mode of buns. Please.

      Reply
    2. Aarthi

      at

      @Anonymousyou have to make cakes and buns in microwave + conv

      Reply
    3. Anonymous

      at

      Hi aarthi. Nice recipe. Ur awesome cook

      Reply
    4. Aarthi

      at

      @Anonymousgo to blogger.com. every other is easy

      Reply
    5. Anonymous

      at

      @Aarthi
      Thank you for your reply a Aarthi

      Reply
    6. sabarish

      at

      Hi whether we have to keep this fish mixing for 1 hr resting time?

      Reply
    7. Aarthi

      at

      @sabarishif you want you can keep it for 1 hour, else dont need

      Reply
    8. Sarbjeet

      at

      wat is dis corn flour??? is it makki kaa aata????

      Reply
    9. Aarthi

      at

      @Sarbjeetno corn flour is different from makki ka aata..it is white in colour also known as cornstarch

      Reply
    10. Anonymous

      at

      Hi arthi can u suggest some fish that can be used..i tried paarai fish..the fish was bit smelly.

      Reply
    11. Aarthi

      at

      @Anonymousi used tilapia

      Reply
    12. Ruth

      at

      I tried this recipe today. It came out well.very delicious ..keep up the good work aarthi. proud of u friend.

      Reply
    13. Anonymous

      at

      Hi , milk products with fish is not advisable... Can this be excluded while preparing this. Happy to see ur post on recipes

      Reply
    14. Aarthi

      at

      @Anonymous I think when it is cooked it is safe, because many recipes use it..And u can skip that too

      Reply
    15. Anonymous

      at

      It's a myth, misconception. There s nothing harmful in mixing milk puts with seafood.
      Surya

      Reply
    16. Karen Pinto

      at

      Yummy yummier yummiest... Tummy happy happier happiest

      Reply
    17. Unknown

      at

      Im going to try this on my day off, ur end result looked amazing, great job arthi

      Reply
    18. Krisha

      at

      Hi, I don't have chat masala. Can I omit or what can I subtitute it for?

      Reply
    19. Sharmilee

      at

      Looks tempting

      Reply
    20. Tevin Bogisich

      at

      Your dedication to quality shines through.

      Reply
    5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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