Fish Pollichathu - a kerala delicasy

My husband was going through my old food photographs, looking at one photo he said,:you have never made me this one". So I decided to cook it for him today.The recipe is Fish pollichathu. I was introduced to this dish by my dad - the fish lover,and this is one of my his favorite recipe.My dad used to go to a restaurant in R.S.Puram, Coimbatore, to eat this dish and this dish alone costs more than it would cost  for whole family meal in Annapoorna (it's a famous south Indian chain of restaurant). I was so angry at my dad cos, he had a budding cook (:D) at home and went out to eat this dish, so i decided to cook it for him and  

he said it tasted very similar to the restaurant and i was elated.

This dish is a kerala style dish called as "meen pollichathu" meaning fish in banana leaf.Today i am using aluminium foil instead of banana leaf, with fish marinated in spices and a smothered in a spicy gravy,covered and baked in the oven. The aroma fills the room once you open the foil and its is so so gud when eaten hot. This can be served with rice,roti. Today I served it with couscous, simply cooked in water with salt,cumin and chilly powder. You can use any white fleshed fish as a whole one or individual fillets. I used Tilapia fillets.

Most of the kerela dishes are prepared with coconut oil, but you can substitute with any olive oil or any oil of your preference.Traditional pollichathu dish doesn't have cashews in it, but tats my twist.

I couldn't get a proper photo of the cooked fish because my husband was in a hurry to go to office and I waited till the last minute to put the fish in the oven cos I wanted him to eat it hot. I just was able to steal an OK foto of it.You can actually see the hot steam coming out, it clouded my lens :(

If you are using whole fish, clean it,scale it and score it.This is a spicy dish reduce the red chilly if you want it less spicy. I have also given the option of using coconut milk to tone down the spice a bit.

Fish Pollichathu Serves 4

Ingredients

Fish fillets - 4

Marinade ingredients:

Pearl onions / small onion, chopped - 5 (can substitute with regular onions)

Ginger and garlic paste - 2 tspn

Red chilly - 4 / 5

Curry leaves - half stem

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn

Cashew - 4

Salt - 1/2 tspn

Gravy Ingredients

Red onion chopped - 1 big

Tomato chopped - 2

Coriander powder - 1 tspn

Pepper powder - 1/2 tspb

Curry leaf - 1/2 stem

Chilly powder - 1/4 tspn

Coconut milk / cream- 3 tspn (optional)

Coconut oil or any oil of choice - 2 tspn

Aluminum foil

Salt to taste -  1/2 tspn

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 F

Blend all the marinade ingredients together, score the fish with a knife so that the marinade seeps in. Add the fish to the marinade and let it rest in the fridge for 30 mins.

In a pan add oil, once hot add,curry leaves and chopped onion and fry until the onions are translucent and caramelized.

At this stage remove the fish from the marinade and keep aside.Scrape all the marinade from the fish.

Add the marinade to the pan with the onion.

Add the chopped tomatoes,coriander powder,chilly powder,cover the pan let the mixture cook for 5 minutes

Add the coconut cream / milk ,salt and simmer for 2 minutes.Do not let the coconut mil to cook for long bcos it might curdle.This step is optional.

Baking method:

Take a large piece of foil and place it on the baking tray. Place a dollop of gravy on the middle and place the fish on top of the gravy and cover the whole fish with the gravy.You can use more or less gravy according to your liking.

Fold one end of the foil over the fish and the other end on the top and fold in the sides as well. The fish has to bake inside the foil so wrap it in any fashion you find easier taking care that the steam doesn't not escape the foil. There should be no holes on it as well.

Cook for 10 - 15 minutes or until the fish is fully cooked.Cooking time may vary according to the size of the fish.

Enjoy.

Pepper crusted Tilapia Indian style with green beans and mustard sauce

Indian approach to fish is totally different from other styles of cooking. I have never seen the fish monger in India fillet them, they just chop them along with their bones.I am from South India and our approach to cooking a fish is also different from the other styles of cooking like baking,or the simple crusting with salt and pepper and cooking them on a pan. We usually coat them with spices and shallow fry them or add it to the curry.

When my mom cooks fish curry the whole house comes awake with that wonderful aromatic spice and fish smell. We used to play a game where in we find out which house on the street is cooking fish by  just walking on the street. We don even have to be inside the house to smell the fish! I think everybody from Southern part will know what i am talking abt !

My father loves fish ,my husband also loves fish, any style.Hmm.. I am beginning to wonder my husband and my dad are so much alike, in so many things.... I usually make fish curry on the weekends and i bake or pan fry the fish on weekdays for lunch.This is a recipe i made yesterday for my husband for lunch. Usually when he orders fish in restaurants he feels they are bland, cos he is used to eating spicy tangy fish,so I put my own twist in it by adding ginger and garlic paste (G&G paste) which is a staple in Indian cooking. All Indians are familiar with this paste. For those who doesn't not know abt this paste, as the name suggest it is a blend of ginger and garlic with some oil. You can make your own paste at home by grinding the ginger and garlic with oil in your blender and you can store it in an air tight container in the refrigerator for a months. You can find this paste in any Indian store. Little goes a long way so be careful when you coat it over the fish.

I also put a twist on the usual mustard sauce with a touch of cumin and cayenne. Plus, I added capers for the salty burst to balance the sweetness of the honey and mustard.

This is such an easy recipe it literally took me 5 mins for prep and cooking. I brushed the fish with the G&G paste and added salt and lots of pepper as my husband likes it spicy:) I also cook the fish to a well done and not medium, as in India we are used to eating well cooked fish and never medium or opaque in the middle. I remember my father sending away the fish cos it was opaque in the middle.But feel free to cook the fish any way you want.But recommend pan frying it than baking cos the G&G paste has to completely cook down.

 I am using Tilapia fillets here, any white fish would be good. I know i know what some of you are thinking, but, I don know what tilapia fish is called in tamil guys, sorry.

Pepper crusted Tilapia Indian style with green beans and mustard sauce Serves 4

Ingredients

Tilapia fish fillets - 4 or any white flesh fish

Ginger & garlic paste (G&G paste) - 1 tspn

Coarsely ground pepper - 5 tspn

Salt

Oil for frying

Sauteed Green Beans Ingredients

Green beans frozen any style - 1 bunch, if french cut - 11.5 cups precooked

Garlic chopped - 2

Onion chopped - 1/4 cup

Slithered almonds - 4 tspn

Panko bread crumbs - 4 Tspn

Oil - 1tspn

Salt

Pepper

Mustard sauce

Low fat Yogurt - 1 tspn

Low fat Mayonnaise - 1tspn

Dijon Mustard - 1 tspn

Capers - 1 tspn

Cayenne pepper - a pinch

Cumin powder - apinch

Honey - a very small dollop

Salt and pepper

Method 

Pepper crusted Tilapia

Brush the tilapia with the G&G paste, add salt and pepper. the paste makes the salt and pepper stick to the fish.Repeat the same on the other side.

Repeat the same on the other fillet

Heat the pan with oil, once the pan starts to smoke add the fish and cook for 2 mins on each side, or according to the thickness of the fish it might take few more or even less minutes.

I recommend cooking the fish on pan instead of baking because the G&G paste has to completely cook down.

Sauteed Green beans

In a pan dry roast the slithered almonds and panko until golden brown. Keep aside in a cup.

Add oil in pan, add the chopped onion and chopped garlic and fry for a minute.

Wash and drain the beans and add it to the onion and let the oil coat the beans

Add salt and pepper and toss the beans around for a couple of mins.

switch off the heat and add the panko and almond mixture and toss around

Mustard sauce

Add the yougurt,mayo,mustard,honey, salt and pepper mix well. Taste for seasoning.

Add the other ingredients like cumin and cayenne and capers and mix well.

Sauce is ready to serve.