Hamsi Tava

I am not sure that Hamsi are actually the same as Anchovies. I think they are a tiny fish that is only found in the Black Sea and nowhere else in the world. It is a fish that is widely eaten in all countries around the Black Sea, and as far as I know, this fried version is pretty much the same everywhere. And I guess, anchovies are similar enough that they can be substituted. And probably any other really small fish like Sardines also.

The recipe below omits one important thing: Sliced and ringed onions! You absolutely need to have these together with fried Hamsi. I am sort of surprised that where I got the recipe from they forgot to add these, since they are a specialized Turkish food blog. But the rest is as it should be. Be sure to use corn flour, that is important as well.

Needless to say even, bread (not out of a bag but freshly baked from a bakery please!) goes really well with these. In fact, what I like to do is make a sandwich out of the fish and the onion slices. And finally, you do not need to worry about fish bones, they are so tiny that they become all crunchy and edible during the frying process.


INGREDIENTS
  • 1 kg Fresh Hamsi (Anchovies)
  • 1 cup corn flour
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 lemon cut into wedges

INSTRUCTIONS
  • First, clean the Hamsi (Anchovies) and then rinse them well and set aside. 
  • Sprinkle salt.
  • Pour the corn flour on the counter and coat the Hamsi well. Repeat until you coat all of them.
  • Pour the frying oil into a large frying pan or double side frying pan and heat the oil at medium heat.
  • Fry Hamsi for two minutes until they get golden and transfer on a paper towel to get the excess olive oil off the fried Hamsi.
  • Serve with lemon wedges.

Shamelessly filched from: 
Thank you Turkish Foodie! :-)

Images: Unsplash, Pexels and Freepik.


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