Love fish? Try this delicious Bhetki Machher Paturi recipe by a friend of Licious, Archita Pal.
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Ingredients
- 250 grams Sea bass fillet
- 3 tsp Yellow mustard seed
- 2 tbsp black mustard seeds
- 2 tbsp Mustard Oil
- 2 tbsp Beaten yogurt
- 4 tbsp Freshly grated coconut
- 10 pieces Green Chilies
- 1/2 tsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
- Salt to taste
For the parcels
- 3 Banana Leaves medium sized
- Cotton thread for tying nylon/synthetic will meltheat
Ingredients
For the parcels
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Instructions
Step 1: Prepare banana leaves for the parcel
- Use your kitchen scissors to cut the banana leaves along the mid riff. Cut pieces of 8cm X 8cm each. (Be gentle, else leaves would split into strips which you do not want)
- To soften the leaves, run them over low flame on the gas (be careful not to burn the leaves). As an alternate, lightly heat a tawa and press the leaves on it with a kitchen towel to complete this step. (This step is a must)
- Gently clean the leaves on both sides using a damp cloth to get rid of any dust.
- Store the leaves in the refrigerator to avoid drying out
Step 2: Marinate the fish
- Wash the fish fillet in running water and dry it using a clean kitchen towel. Gently slice the fish fillet into pieces of approximately 30g each.
- Season the fish with 1 tsp salt + ½ tsp turmeric powder + 1 tbsp lemon juice. Cover and leave aside for 15 minutes.
Step 3: Make the mustard paste
- Soak mustard seeds for 30 minutes and strain it.
- In a chutney blender, add the strained mustard seeds + 5 green chilies + ½ tsp salt + ½ tsp sugar and blend it to a fine paste. Add little water if needed.
- Add freshly grated coconut + 1 tsp water and blend again.
- Pour the mixture in a bowl. Add 2 tbsp mustard oil + 2 tbsp beaten yogurt. Using cut and fold method, to bring together all ingredients
Step 4: Coat the fish
- Add marinated fish pieces to the mustard mix and coat well. Do not add water released from fish (if any)
- Make sure the paste is thick enough and covers the fish from all sides
Step 5: Make the parcels
- Take a piece of banana leaf and lightly brush the centre with some mustard oil
- Take 1 piece of fish coated in mustard paste and place it in the centre
- Add 1 slit green chili on top (this is for flavour and will not add to the heat)
- Fold the banana leaf to make a small parcel (gently pull the left flap over and cover the fish, pull over the right flap; pull together flaps from bottom and top). Make sure there is no dripping mustard paste from the parcels
- Tie the parcel (like a gift pack) using the cotton thread; secure it well
- Follow these steps to make parcels with all pieces of fish
Step 6: Cooking
- Heat a non-stick pan/ tawa
- Lightly grease it with 1 tbsp oil
- Place the fish parcels on the tawa. Cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes on medium flame
- Flip the parcels and cook again for 10 minutes
- Remove from pan and rest the parcels for 5-7 minutes before serving
- Cut off the thread, unwrap and enjoy Bhetki Paturi with plain steamed rice.