Cut and clean the fish pieces. I buy the fish steaks cut into the right shape so it makes preparation really simple

Let the cleaned fish drain in a colander placed inside the sink (or another vessel if you wish). We need the fish to be as dry as possible before slathering in the marinade

To prepare the marinade, there are two options:

You can add all the ingredients into a spice grinder and grind to a paste.

If you are using readymade ginger garlic paste (I don't recommend this, freshly made paste is better for this recipe), then you can just mix everything in a bowl

If the paste is too thick, add a teaspoon of water. The marinade should be a thick paste and not watery; with this proportion of ingredients, I usually don't need to add any water

Using your fingers, generously slather the marinade all over the fish pieces

Plate in a bowl or plate, cover and set aside for 30 minutes. You can leave it overnight in the refrigerator if you don't intend to cook it immediately

When ready to fry the fish, heat oil in a pan until it almost begins to smoke. We always pan fry the fish with just enough to cover the fish halfway and that works great

Once the oil is hot enough, gently place the fish pieces into the oil

Keep flame at medium and cover the pan while frying to prevent the spluttering oil and marinade getting all over you and the stove

The moisture from the fish and the heat from the oil will fry-steam the fish in this method

Once the first side of the fish is a dark golden brown, gently flip over and keep covered until the other side is cooked

Needless to say, you must not allow the fish to overlap while cooking.

Serve fish fry hot with sliced onions and lime wedges