Golden beer-battered fish

• servings: 2
• active time: 15 mins
• total time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

50g plain flour

50g cornflour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp turmeric

75ml lager beer

75ml sparkling water

about 1 litre sunflower oil, for frying

400g fillet cod or hake, halved

Directions

1 Combine the flour, cornflour, baking powder and turmeric in a large bowl, season, then spoon 1 tbsp on a plate and set aside. Pour the beer and water into the bowl, stirring until you have a smooth, lump-free batter. Leave to rest for 30 mins.

2 To cook the fish, heat the oil in a deep saucepan until a drop of batter crisps up straight away. Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper, then toss it in the reserved turmeric flour mix. Dip into the batter. Lower each fillet into the hot oil and fry for 6-8 mins until golden and crisp. Lift out using a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Notes

Serve with Tomato sauce

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large, deep pan, then fry 2 onions, chopped, 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated, 2 garlic cloves, chopped, and 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped, for 10-15 mins until soft. Add 800g tomatoes, finely chopped, 100g dark brown sugar, 100ml red wine vinegar, 2 tbsp tomato purée and seasoning, then boil for 30 mins, stirring occasionally, until thick. Whizz in a blender until smooth and funnel into a glass bottle.