Imagine a fish that is coated in coconut
chutney, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed, this dish is one of the
hallmarks of Parsi cuisine - influenced by the fine blend of Gujarati and
Persian cooking. No Parsi celebration is complete without their most famous and
mouthwatering dish Patra ni Machhi, which literally means fish in leaves,
and in this case refers to pomfret wrapped in a banana leaf. It is an absolute
standard on every Parsi festive menu and must come from the community"s
seafaring and coastal days.
Parsis are a community of Zoroastrians who
made their home in the western borders of South Asia (Gujarat and Sindh in
India) somewhere during the 10th century. Parsis are famously known for their enjoyment of life and have a
saying:"Khanar pinar ne khodai apnar." God gives in
abundance to those who eat and drink.But you don't have to been a Parsi to fall
in love with a dish as flavorful and refreshing.
Though very similar to the Paturi or Patrapoda that we make minus the Mustard and plus a
few other ingredients. To us the spice would be predominantly Mustard
paste while to a Parsi it would be a green chutney consisting of predominantly
coriander leaves, coconut. While the Paturi is made of Bhetki or Hilsa,
the Patra ni Machchhi is made of Pomfret,
Either a Bengali Paturi , Odia Patra Poda or a Parsi Patrani Machchhi...all these are subtly
flavoured fish delicacies of their respective communities.
Coming back to the Patra ni Machchi, the
preparation is made by marinating the fish in a coating of spicy green coconut
chutney and wrapping it in banana leaves. The fish is steamed to ensure that the flavors
and juices of the fish and chutney are sealed in the banana leaves packet.Going with the theme of Microwave Cooking for our 30th Foodie Monday Blog
Hop , nothing seems more appropriate than this Patra ni Macchi recipe which calls
for it to be filleted and stuffed, then parcelled in banana leaf and steamed.
Now a days intense time pressures do not allow
the slow way of cooking practiced in earlier days. One device that has defied
the clock in the Kitchen is the microwave oven. Now is it possible to cook
delicious Indian food in microwaves? Yes, it is very much possible to do your
everyday cooking in Microwave. Unlike the conventional Indian food, microwave
cooked food is low calorie. The process of cooking the food is clean
and efficient. One can serve the food in the same vessel one
cooked food in saving us a lot of chores and time.
Cuisine: Parsi
Prep time: 45 minutes
cook time:5 minutes
cooking Medium :
Microwave Mode
Serves:2
Ingredients
- 2 whole Pomfret fish
- salt
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 cup fresh coriander coarsely chopped
- 4 green chillies chopped
- ½ cup fresh grated coconut
- 2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 6 to 8 large garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- curry leaves( Optional)
- 2 nos of Banana leaves
Lets learn how to make this recipe of Patra ni Machchi:
- Cut and clean the fish. you can make fillets out of it or can cook the whole fish. If using the whole fish make some cut in the body of the fish, so that the fish can absorb the marinade easily.
- Sprinkle salt and half of the lemon juice over the fish and set aside for 30 minutes preferably in the refrigerator.
- Grind the fresh coriander, green chillies, coconut, cumin seeds, garlic to a fine paste.Add salt, sugar and the remaining lemon juice and mix well.
- Apply this marinade to the fish and set aside for at least 15 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Cut out the vein of the Banana leaf with a sharp knife after it is cleaned and washed. Fold it lightly and toss it around on the burner for a little while, till it starts to wilt a little. This will make sure that the Banana leaf is softer and easier to handle and not hard and brittle.
- Place the marinated fish in the center of each banana leaf and smear rest of the chutney on them.Fold in the ends to make a parcel.
- Place the fish parcels on a greased Microwave safe platter. Pour some water in another microwave safe dish which is larger than the one with the fish in it. Place the dish with fish parcel in them and microwave at 900W for five minutes.
- At this point you will see the banana leaves turning light brown.Serve immediately with a steamed bowl of hot rice.
- Do not open the parcels while serving. Let the person eat by opening them.
Sending this recipe to 30th Foodie Monday BlogHop theme of Microwave cooking....
You can also see other Fish recipes like:
4 comments
Love that you have made it in the microwave! Makes it cook faster... We also have something similar of fish wrapped up in banana leaves, with a lot of spicy masala... totally love it...
ReplyDeleteThanks Rafeeda...is your recipe on the blog to follow...would love to learn your version and try.
DeleteAwesome write up and mindblowing presentation... lots to learn from you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Saswati...
Delete