← Nouns Cooking · Indian

Ingredients

• 2 whole pearl spot, pomfret or sea bream (about 300 g each), cleaned
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• ½ tsp Ground turmeric
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp Salt
• 3 tbsp coconut oil, for frying
• 2 tbsp Coconut oil
• 12 small shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 cm piece Ginger, finely chopped
• 5 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Green chilli, chopped
• 2 sprigs Curry leaves
• 1 Tomato, finely chopped
• 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tsp Ground coriander
• ¼ tsp Ground turmeric
• ½ tsp Salt
• 60 ml thick coconut milk
• 1 tsp tamarind pulp (optional)
• 2 large pieces of banana leaf (or baking parchment)

Method

1. Cut 2–3 deep slashes on both sides of each fish. Mix the chilli, turmeric, pepper, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice and salt into a paste, rub it all over and into the cuts, and leave for 30 min.
2. Heat the frying oil in a wide pan over medium heat and shallow-fry the fish for 3 min per side until lightly crisp but not fully cooked. Set aside.
3. In the same pan, heat the masala oil and fry the shallots for 8–10 min until soft and golden. Add the ginger, garlic, chillies and curry leaves and cook for 2 min.
4. Stir in the tomato and the ground spices with the salt and cook for 5 min until jammy. Add the coconut milk and tamarind and simmer for 2–3 min to a thick masala.
5. Pass the banana leaves briefly over a flame or dip them in hot water so they soften. Spread a spoonful of masala on each leaf, lay a fish on top and cover it with more masala.
6. Fold the leaf into a neat parcel and tie with kitchen string. Cook the parcels in a dry heavy pan over low-medium heat for 6–8 min per side, until the leaf is charred in places and the fish is cooked through.
7. Bring the parcels to the table and open them there for the full aroma. Serve with rice.

Tips

• Fillets work too: use thick pieces of salmon or cod and cut the final cooking time to about 5 min per side.
• Frozen banana leaves are sold in Asian shops; baking parchment wrapped in foil is a fair stand-in.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Kothiyavunu Yummy Tummy Aarthi