Titiwi accra

Ingredients

The fish

• 400 gtitiwi
• tiny river fry
• fresh, rinsed and drained
• or 400 g whitebait
• see the note on the fishery

The batter

• 200 gplain flour
• 1 teaspoonbaking powder
• half a teaspoon salt
• 1egg, beaten
• about 200 ml water
• or a little more

The seasoning

• 4spring onions, finely chopped
• 3 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 1hot pepper, finely chopped
• a scotch bonnet, seeded
• a small handful chives or parsley
• a sprig of thyme, leaves only
• a squeeze of lime
• black pepper

For frying

• 500 mlvegetable oil
• or enough for 3 cm depth

To serve

• lime wedges
• a hot pepper sauce
• cold beer or a fruit punch
• bread, optional

Directions

1. Use them the same day they are caught. Keep them cold on ice until you cook them. Discard them if they smell at all sour. Rinse the fry gently in cold water. Pick out any leaves, twigs or debris.
2. Pick out any larger fish that came in the net. Drain them thoroughly in a fine sieve. Spread them on a cloth and pat them dry. Wet fish make a wet, heavy batter. Chop the spring onions very finely. Crush the garlic to a rough paste. Chop the herbs finely as well. It transfers to eyes hours later and burns.
3. Leave the seeds in for a fierce one. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the centre of the flour. Add the beaten egg to the well. Pour in the water gradually while whisking. Whisk until it is smooth with no lumps. The batter should be thick, not runny. Add the chopped seasonings to the batter.
4. Add the lime juice and the black pepper. Stir it all through the batter evenly. Fold rather than stir, so they stay whole. The mixture should be thick with fish. Let the mixture stand for ten minutes. Fill it no more than one third full. Never leave hot oil unattended at all.
5. Keep a well fitting lid within reach. If it catches fire, turn off the heat. Heat it to about one hundred and eighty degrees. It should sizzle and rise immediately.
6. Drop in spoonfuls of the mixture. Use a tablespoon and push it off with another. Do not crowd the pan at any point. Fry four or five fritters at a time. Fry them for about three minutes a side.
7. Turn them once with a slotted spoon. They should be deep golden and crisp. Break one open to check the first batch. Adjust the timing if the middle is raw. Lift them out and drain them on a rack. Sprinkle a little salt while still hot. Let the oil recover between batches. Serve them hot with wedges of lime. Hot pepper sauce is served alongside.

Technique

• Titiwi are the young fry of river gobies of the genus Sicydium, which spawn in Caribbean rivers, drift out to sea as larvae, and return in vast shoals to swim upstream. Netting a run takes fish before they have bred, and river gobies also need free-flowing rivers that dams, extraction and sediment block. Several Caribbean populations have declined. The atlas has no current stock figures and will not invent one; what it will say is that this is a short-season delicacy, not a staple, and that the seasonality is itself a form of restraint. Buy from local fishers where the fishery is managed rather than seeking it out from far away.
• Tiny fry have a huge surface area for their size and spoil faster than larger fish. Use them the same day, keep them on ice, and discard anything that smells sour.
• There should be more fish than batter. The batter is a binder, not the body of the fritter — too much of it gives something doughy.
• The batter must be thick, like a thick pancake batter. A thin one disperses in the oil and the fritters fall apart.
• Scotch bonnets are among the hottest chillies commonly sold, and the oil clings to skin for hours and transfers to eyes long after washing. Wear gloves.
• Deep-frying rules apply: fill the pan no more than a third, never leave it unattended, keep a lid within reach, and never throw water on burning oil.
• The squeeze of lime at the table is essential rather than decorative. It cuts the oil and lifts the fish.

Substitutions

• Whitebait replaces titiwi directly and is the closest widely available substitute — the same idea of tiny whole fish, differently sourced.
• Frozen whitebait works; thaw it fully and dry it very thoroughly before it goes into the batter.
• Salt cod, soaked and flaked, makes the more common Caribbean accra and is a genuinely different but related fritter.
• A habanero replaces a scotch bonnet closely.
• Any neutral high-smoke-point oil suits the frying.
• The egg can be left out for a plainer batter, with a little more water in its place.

Variations

• Saint Vincent makes the same fritters from the same fish under the name tri-tri, and also makes tri-tri cakes and stews.
• Saltfish accra, made with soaked salt cod, is the everyday Caribbean fritter and is eaten year-round.
• Some cooks make a titiwi stew rather than fritters, simmered with tomato, onion and pepper.
• A version pressed into a flat cake and pan-fried, rather than dropped as fritters, is made in some households.
• Related tiny-fish fritters are made across the Caribbean, and whitebait fritters in New Zealand use an almost identical technique with a different fish.
• Titiwi are also simply fried in a pan with onion and pepper, without any batter at all.

History

Fritters of tiny river fry netted at river mouths when they swarm, a seasonal delicacy shared with Saint Vincent.

Frequently asked questions

What is Titiwi accra?

Titiwi accra is a snack from Dominica: fritters of tiny river titiwi fish. Fritters of tiny river fry netted at river mouths when they swarm, a seasonal delicacy shared with Saint Vincent.

How long does Titiwi accra take to make?

Titiwi accra takes 20 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 20 fritters. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Titiwi accra?

Yes, within limits. Whitebait replaces titiwi directly and is the closest widely available substitute — the same idea of tiny whole fish, differently sourced. Frozen whitebait works; thaw it fully and dry it very thoroughly before it goes into the batter. Salt cod, soaked and flaked, makes the more common Caribbean accra and is a genuinely different but related fritter. A habanero replaces a scotch bonnet closely. Any neutral high-smoke-point oil suits the frying. The egg can be left out for a plainer batter, with a little more water in its place.

What is the most important thing to get right in Titiwi accra?

Add the lime juice and the black pepper. Stir it all through the batter evenly. Fold rather than stir, so they stay whole. The mixture should be thick with fish. Let the mixture stand for ten minutes. Fill it no more than one third full. Never leave hot oil unattended at all.