Fried sprats with mămăligă and mujdei

Name: Fried sprats with mămăligă and mujdei
Ingredients: 1 kg sprats; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 4 tablespoons white wheat flour; 300 ml sunflower oil; 1000 ml water; 1 teaspoon salt; 250 g cornmeal; 1 head garlic; 2 teaspoons olive oil; 1/4 teaspoon salt

Fish - Fried sprats with mămăligă and mujdei by Octaviana G. - Recipia

Fried sprats with mămăligă and mujdei are coated in flour and fried until golden and crisp. Sprats are small and cook quickly; alongside them, the mămăligă, a Romanian cornmeal porridge, stays soft, while the mujdei, a Romanian garlic sauce, is made with olive oil alone. I choose fish of a similar size so they brown at the same time. Prep: 20 minutes. Cook: 53 minutes. Rest: 0 minutes. Total: 73 minutes. Serves: 4. Approximately 650 kcal and 52 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

For the fish

1 kg sprats
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons white wheat flour
300 ml sunflower oil

For the mămăligă

1000 ml water
1 teaspoon salt
250 g cornmeal

For the mujdei

1 head garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. Remove the heads and guts from the sprats, then rinse them well and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle them with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. 2. Bring 1000 ml of water and 1 teaspoon of salt to a boil, about 8 minutes. Gradually pour in the cornmeal, stirring, then cook the mămăligă for 20 minutes, until thickened. 3. Pound the garlic with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. 4. Heat 300 ml of oil in a pan, about 5 minutes, until a pinch of flour sizzles as soon as it hits the oil. Coat the fish in flour and fry in batches of 200 g, for 2 minutes on each side, over medium heat. They’re ready when golden; frying takes about 20 minutes in total. 5. Serve the sprats warm with the mămăligă and mujdei.

Notes

Fried fish keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days, but the crust softens; keep the mujdei separate. I serve it with pickles. For a gluten-free version, replace the 4 tablespoons of flour with 4 tablespoons of cornstarch; wheat flour contains gluten. Small sprats fry faster than larger fish, so choose ones of a similar size. I start frying just before serving, not long beforehand.