A spice is a dried seed, root, bark or dried leaf primarily used to give a peculiar taste to our everyday food. One such cuisine which uses an array of spices is the Chettinad cuisine. This is the cuisine of the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu state in south India. Chettinad cuisine is well known for its flavours and especially for their freshly ground spices they use in their recipes. In Chettinad food, the most important spices are maratti mokku (dried flower pods), anasipoo (star aniseed) and kalpasi (a lichen known as the “black stone flower”, also known as dagad phool). In addition, tamarind, whole red chillies, and sombu (fennel seed) are also used along with pattai (cinnamon), lavangam (cloves), bay leaf, karu milagu (peppercorn), jeeragam (cumin seeds), and venthayam (also called mendhiyam) (fenugreek).While buying fish, make sure that it will be good for frying since some fishes stick to the tawa and break while frying. Such fishes will be good only for the gravy. Here I have used king fish which is a flavourful fish and is easily available. Also it has only a centre bone which can be easily removed.Today I am going to share with you a basic Chettinad fish masala that has so many aromatic and flavorful spices in it. I usually fry fish using very few ingredients like the red chilli powder and salt as it is the simplest method with great results. Sometimes I add some lemon juice or other masalas for variation, but the Chettinad fish fry has a variety of spices used in it that makes the fish fry taste really awesome. I bet you would not have tasted any fish fry better than this. This is just the basic masala powder, but when making the fry you must add some shallot paste, ginger garlic paste along with this powder and apply on the fish pieces, set them aside for few minutes and then fry them to get the complete authentic Chettinad fish fry. This masala needs time to prepare. You can prepare this in advance and store them in containers and use when needed. I usually prepare this fry very rarely because it needs some extra effort, but then when I started to prepare this masala in larger quantities and store them, my work became a lot easier and now I make it very often. You can either opt to make fresh masala or make in large quantities or store them for future use. Vegetarians can use the same masala to roast baby potatoes. Now let’s see what’s required and how to proceed.Chettinad fry fish(Serves 4)IngredientsChettinad spiceCumin seeds 1 tbspFennel seeds 1 tbspFenugreek seeds 1 tbspCoriander seeds 2 tbspBay leaf 2-3 noCinnamon 2-3 sticksPeppercorns 1 tbspCloves ½ tbspRed chili dry 6-8 noTurmeric powder ¼ tbspSalt 1 tbspDried flower pods 1 tbspStar anise 2-3 noFor fry fishKing fish steaks 800gShallots150gGinger 1 medium pc Garlic 6-8 clovesOil to shallow fryMethodChettinad masalaTake a pan and dry roast all the spices except salt and turmeric for 30 – 45 secondsRemove from pan and allow to coolBlend all the spices and grind well into powder, add turmeric and salt and grind againSieve the ground spice mixture and grind the remaining if required Store in an air tight container or use as requiredFry fishMake a paste of shallots, ginger and garlic.Add the prepared Chettinad masala in the paste and rub evenly on cleaned fish steaks.Shallow fry over medium heat on both sides till the fish has nice brown crust and is fully cooked.Serve hot with a choice of salad and mint sauce.Tip: While making fry fish if the fish is sticking to the frying pan sprinkle some corn flour on the fish this will prevent the fish from sticking and the fried fish will have a crispy crust on it. Crunchy banana toastNow to delight your taste buds after spicy Chettinad fish this is a simple and easy dessert recipe. Also you can make this as an evening snack for your kids.IngredientsBread slices 2 noCream 4 tbspSugar grain 2 tbspBanana 1 noCorn flakes 2 tbspMethodToast the bread slices in a toaster Top up the bread slices with whipped creamArrange banana slices on topSprinkle some corn flakes followed by grain sugar Serve any time of the day or enjoy with tea, coffee or juice for breakfast