Fish market did give me "Zor ka jhatka dheere se ",you know,shock without any shock treatment ;P...but like everything in life and like I believe,there is always a good side to every thing .Though fishes possessed a supernatural power to confuse me even though they were dead and the fish seller were like ,"No,you don't get any vegetables here,buy or leave ."
When I did dared or cared to buy any fish,there was one thing that impressed me a lot ...the fish seller would cut the fish, the way I liked !! ..Half work done I say !! So , all I had to do was just choose any,take home,quick clean, and cook the way I wish.Sounds good right ?? But no..not exactly ! You see,there is sometimes a bad side to everything too; The fish monger would only cut "Big" fishes not the small ones.
And when the fish are very shhmaal,they may look very cute and innocent (look at the above ones,awww) BUT don't be fooled by their looks ; to cut and clean those fishes,it is indeed an herculean task.
And if you love the fish and it's rarely available fresh ,then you may do what I did..Yepp,I love Anchovies/netholi meen/Kozhuva meen/smelt a lot which are abundantly available in Kerala ,is unfortunately, rarely available here in US just like North India . However,I could find the frozen version of it in Indian stores here ,which though didn't tasted that fresh, was nicely clean and cut,ready-to-cook .
So,recently,I had a pleasant surprise at the fish market ,they had this Netholi/Nethili fresh but uncut .I bought them happily...
Since ,amma darling gave me a crash course, before my marriage,to how to clean and cut the fish ,which I said "Eww" then became "Thanks mom !" now...It is time consuming but worth it !
This is how I clean small fish at home/clean and cut anchovy/netholi at home :
Want to know how much patience you've in store ? Cut and clean the Anchovies !
Like one of my blog reader's request to suggest a good cutting scissor - here is one my friend recommended me-
Coolife Kitchen Shears, Multifunction Stainless Steel Kitchen Scissors with Soft Rubber Grips, Comes with a Magnetic Sheath (Green)
Eat,love,live DELICIOUSLY,
P.S. Improve your G.K. : Learn the fish names in different or in your language well.!