Toast the spices and pepper in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until fragrant. Remove, add the salt, and whizz in a spice grinder or grind using a pestle and mortar. Pass through a fine sieve into a shallow dish. Place the beaten eggs and flour in separate shallow dishes.

Fill a saucepan a third full with vegetable oil and heat to 180°C or until a small cube of bread turns golden brown within 1 minute. Dip the whitebait into the flour, then the egg mix, then into the spice mix. Carefully put the whitebait into the hot oil, and cook in batches for about 1-2 minutes, until browned. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Serve with some aïoli and some lemon wedges.