Chraime – Fried Fish in Spicy Tomato Sauce

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried Fish

1. 1
   Pat the fish dry well with paper towels.

   Paper towels
2. 2
   Mix the flour, salt, black pepper, paprika and cumin in a wide bowl.

   Bowl
3. 3
   Roll the fish in the flour mixture on all sides, to a thin, even coating, and shake off the excess.

   💡Shake off the excess flour well: a thick layer of flour comes away from the fish during frying, while a thin coating stays crisp.
4. 4
   Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan

   💡What you brown (meat, patties, schnitzel) goes into hot oil: in lukewarm oil it soaks it up and comes out greasy. For onion and garlic that you soften, oil heated over medium or low heat is enough; do not wait for it to smoke.
5. 5
   Fry the fish 3–4 minutes per side, until the coating is golden and crisp.

   StoveFrying pan
6. 6
   Transfer to paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

   Paper towels

For the Tomato sauce

1. 7
   In a bowl, mix the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, paprika and cumin with the salt.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveWide, shallow pot
2. 8
   Add the red pepper and fry 2 minutes, until the pepper softens.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 9
   Add the tomato paste, cumin, paprika and turmeric and stir about a minute, until fragrant.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
4. 10
   Place slice the fried fish in the sauce. Cover and cook over medium-low heat 15 minutes, until the fish flakes easily.

   StoveLid

   💡Don't overcook: overcooked fish dries out and falls apart in the sauce.