How to clean the fish by yourself?

You can always go to the market and get fish according to your taste and budget. Big sized fish are always cut in to pieces and sold according to the weight. So they will be cleaned then and there, cut in to slices, like Seer fish, Pomfret, Rohu etc.  But the smaller ones like Mackerels, Sardines and other fish are sold just like that. You will have to bring it home and then clean.

Till the recent days I had trouble in cleaning the fish. I never did like the job of cleaning the fish at all. Then one day I had to. Now I can tell you how I learnt to do that. It is easier and cleaner to do it ourselves and you can also do it.

Just follow the steps mentioned below
1. Wash the fish in the running water. Never clean the fish in the stream water or the place from where you got your fish from.  The water will not be clean.
Clean by scrubbing the fish well with your hands. If you have rock salt with you it is the best for scrubbing. The salt will clean out all the dirt and the sticky feeling on top of the fish.

2. Then see if the fish has scales on top. If it has, then take a blunt knife and gently remove the scales by moving the knife in the opposite direction that is from the tail to the head.

3. The next step is to make a gut from the gills  to the vent ( that is till the end of the stomach ) , remove the insides ( entrails ) with your hand.  Check the inside cavity to make sure that you have removed everything.  Rinse the cavity and the fish well.

Points to note while you clean the fish
If you are planning to use the fish whole then remove the dorsal fin completely.  You have to cut along the dorsal fin on both sides  and then pull it out with pliers. Only then the bones underneath the fin will also be removed.  You should not trim the fins before trimming them, because the bones at the base could be left inside the fish.

Remember always store the fish with the cavity  facing down so that the water will not pool inside the cavity which will spoil the fish sooner than you expect.

To clean your hand of the fish smell, apply lime juice  to your hands and wash it with soap. or else wash it in the water first and then apply lime juice to your hands. Wash with soap and then dry your hands.