Karimeen Pollichathu

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean & rinse the fish well. Slit the fish on both sides to marinate well.

2. 2

   Firstly let us marinate the pearl spot fish.

   
3. 3

   For that add 1/4tsp turmeric powder, 1tsp chilly powder, ½ tsp pepper powder, 1/4tsp salt, 1 tsp ginger garlic paste & juice of ½ lemon. Mix all of these together to make a masala paste.

   
5. 4

   Apply this marinade to the fish reaching all the parts of fish. Allow the marinated fish to rest for 15-20 minutes.

   
6. 5

   Shallow fry the fish

7. 6

   We are going to shallow fry the fish. Heat coconut oil in a pan & add a sprig of curry leaves.

8. 7

   Shallow fry the fish on both sides in medium-high flame for 1 to 2min.Do not over-cook the fish.

   
9. 8

   Remove the fish from the pan & keep it aside.

10. 9

    Masala Preparation

11. 10

    Use the same oil for masala preparation.

12. 11

    Add 2 cups of sliced shallots/thinly sliced onions to the hot oil.

    
13. 12

    Add ¼ tsp salt & saute until shallots turn soft.

14. 13

    Now add in 2tsp finely chopped ginger & 2tsp crushed garlic. Saute till onion turns to brown color.

    
15. 14

    Add in ¼ tsp turmeric powder, 1tsp chili powder, ½ tsp pepper powder, ½ tsp coriander powder, ½ tsp garam masala & fresh curry leaves. Fry the masalas for 1 min.

    
16. 15

    To get a nice color for the masala, add 1tsp Kashmiri chili powder & mix well.

17. 16

    Now add in 1 medium-sized chopped tomato & cook until it turns mushy.

    
18. 17

    Then add ¼ cup to ½ cup thick coconut milk to the masala mix. The amount of coconut milk depends on the amount of gravy you need for the masala.

    
19. 18

    Check for seasoning & turn off the flame.

20. 19

    Preparing Meen Pollichathu

21. 20

    Wilt banana leaves (place them atop low flame on stovetop and slide. Repeat on both sides).

22. 21

    Take a big piece of wilted banana leaf and place a little of the masala, the fried fish, and top it with another small portion of the masala.

    
23. 22

    Fold the banana leaf to make a small packet. Fold from both sides.

24. 23

    Fold again on the top and bottom. Wrap well, you can use a banana fiber (vaazha naaru) to hold it.

    
25. 24

    Cooking Meen Pollichathu

26. 25

    Heat some coconut oil in a tawa/pan.

27. 26

    Place the prepared pockets on a pan and cook for 5-10 minutes on a low flame.

28. 27

    Cover the pan with a lid and cook on both sides. The flavor of the banana leaf will penetrate well on a covered pan.

    
29. 28

    Our meen pollichathu is ready to be served.