Karimeen Pollichattu from www.chackoskitchen.com

Karimeen Pollichattu from www.chackoskitchen.com - SUSAN from www.chackoskitchen.com

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Things You’ll Need

Pearl Spot Fish (Karimeen) – 4 nos (about 700 grams / 5 inch size)
Shallots¹ – 200 grams
Tomatoes – 4 nos (about 300 grams)
Banana Leaf² – 3 sheets
Garlic – 1 tbsp
Ginger – 2 tbsp
Green Chilli – 5 nos
Turmeric Powder – ½ tsp
Chilli Powder – 1 tbsp
Coriander(Dhaniya) Powder – 1 tsp
Coconut Oil – 15 ml
Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp
Fenugreek(Methi) Seeds – ½ tsp
Curry Leaves – few sprigs
Kudampuli(Tamarind Pulp)³ – 15 ml
Water – 20 ml
Thick Coconut Milk – 20 ml
Salt – to taste

Golden Touch Mis-en Place [10 mins]

Clean and make diagonal gashes on the Fish.
Finely chop Shallots and Tomatoes, store separately.
Make a paste of Ginger and Garlic
Clean the curry leaves and pat them dry.
Clean Kudampuli (which is the preferred choice) if not Tamarind pulp; whichever is available locally in hot Water(20 ml) and leave it in till needed.

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Golden Touch Preparation [30 mins]

Heat 5 ml Coconut Oil in a pan.
Add Mustard and Fenugreek Seeds, allow to pop.
Add Curry Leaves and chopped Onion. Sauté till golden brown (about 5 mins)
Add chopped Tomatoes and Green Chilli sauté till Oil separates.
Add Ginger-Garlic paste sauté for 1 min.
Add Turmeric Powder, Chilli Powder, Coriander Powder and Salt to taste, sauté for a couple of minutes till the raw taste leave the powder. Do not allow to burn, else it tastes bitter.
Now add the Kudampulli Water only and Coconut Milk, make a thick paste.

Preparing the Banana Leaf

The Banana Leaf once cleaned and dried with a kitchen towel is ready to use, however it may tear off easily; thus I recommend you to follow these steps.

Switch on the flame (medium-high), hold the Banana leaf by it’s ends and move along the fire (about 5 inches above the flame) till the leaf shrivels and blackens lightly. Now you can turn and twist as you wish with this leaf, without the fear of tearing and wasting valuable money if you are to pay to buy them.

Preparing the Fish for the final stage:

Rub Salt to taste on the Fish, then rub the above prepared gravy on the Fish, making sure it is all round it and inside the gashes. Stuff inside the Fish as well.
Wrap carefully in the Banana Leaf, tie with a string, care should be taken not to tear the Leaf.
Heat remaining Coconut Oil in a pan, place the wraps and cook no more than 6 minutes on each side.

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Golden Touch Service:

Serve immediately with Lime wedges.

HEATHY ALTERNATIVE:

Avoid Coconut Milk
Use Olive Oil or Sunflower Oil instead of Coconut Oil

NOTES:

1. Shallots – also known as – Pearl Onion or Chuvannulli. Click here to learn more about how to buy, clean and store them.

2. Banana Leaf – very commonly available in Indian grocery stores, especially during festival seasons. Look for black spots and fungus. Once purchased use immediately. Leena on the comments page just let me know, she tried with foil paper and it did go well, thus you could also do the same if Banana Leaves are not locally available. Getting the Fish wrapped to get that kind of intense flavour is more important.

3. Kudampulli – Also known as: Garcinia Cambogia, Garcinia gummi-gutta, Kerala Tamarind, Brindal berry, Malabar Tamarind, Gambooge. Commonly available in all Indian grocery stores.

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