FISH COOKED IN BANANA LEAF

Ingredients:

• Medium-sized whole white Pomfrets – 3, washed and cleaned
• Marination for the pomfret:
  • Red chilli powder – 2 teaspoons
  • Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon
  • Tamarind paste – 1 teaspoon
  • Salt to taste
• Onion Masala :
  • Kashmiri chillis – 6, broken and soaked for 30 minutes in some water to soften
  • Garlic flakes- 8
  • Ginger – 2″
  • Curry leaves – 6
  • Peppercorns – 1 teaspoon
  • Tamarind paste – 1 teaspoon
  • Tomato ketchup – 1 tablespoon
  • Salt to taste
  • Onions – 5, chopped as tiny as you can’
  • Tomatoes – 2, chopped tiny
  • More curry leaves for seasoning
• Coconut oil – ¼ cup

Method :

• Keeping the pomfrets whole, make deep gashes across each of them.
• Mix the marination ingredients together and marinate the fish. Cover and set aside for an hour.
• Using a blender, grind together Kashmiri chillis, garlic flakes, ginger, 6 curry leaves, peppercorns, tamarind paste, salt to a smooth paste and set aside.
• To a frying pan on medium flame add the coconut oil.
• Slide in the marinated pomfrets, turn up the heat and briefly fry the fish until just brown as shown below, but not necessarily cooked through.

• To a wok/ kadhai on medium flame add 2 tablespoons of the oil left from frying the fish.
• Tip in the onions and fry unit golden brown, followed by 15 curry leaves and chopped tomatoes. Fry for a minute or two.
• Mix in the chopped tomatoes and the ground masala paste. Fry until it all turns a deep red and no longer smells raw. Set aside for later.
• Prepare the banana leaf by heating it over the stovetop to soften it. Pull out strands from the midrib of the leaf (the thick portion that runs through the centre and along the length of the leaf) and use to secure the fish packets.

• Place the softened leaf on a plate, spread a tablespoon of onion masala in the centre of the leaf, top up with a fried pomfret and another tablespoon or more of onion masala on top of the fish. Sprinkle on some finely chopped garlic and ginger.

• Fold the leaf over as shown above and secure with midrib strings from the banana leaf. Prepare the remaining fish in the same way.
• Drain out all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the frying pan used earlier to fry the marinated pomfrets.
• To the frying pan on medium heat add the wrapped pomfret, cover with a well-fitting lid and cook each side for about 8 minutes or until the banana leaves turn dark brown.

Notes:

• Alternatives for :
  • Pomfret- Mackrel, sea perch, red snapper
  • Tamarind – Juice of 1 lime
• For more spice add a few slit green chillies on the top of the fish before folding and tying up the packets.
• You can also directly fry the fish in the banana leaf. In which case cover the fish packets and cook them for about 15 minutes on each side.