Karimeen Pollichathu (Pearl spot )is one such traditional food in kerala.One more layer of spicy masala is spread on top of fish and the banana leaf is folded into a packet. Tied with a string, these fish packets are cooked in a kadai in slow heat

Nags our chef explains the dish...

So all of us were craving for some karimeen pollichathu, a toddy shop specialty which is basically pomfret or pearl fish cooked wrapped in banana leaves. The monsoons have been acting up this year and the toddy shops were making use of the opportunity and selling one fish at 150rs. Considering we are around 6-7 members in the house, we decided to cut the costs by preparing this at home. Mom immediately turned to me since she was not very comfy with making it on her own.

I have experimented with Sardines/Mathi when I was in college, but with karimeen, one couldn’t afford to experiment and mess up since it’s an expensive fish. Anyway, I decided to give it a shot and at the end of it all, we were all pretty happy

KARIMEEN POLLICHATHU

Ingredients:

Pearl Spot / Karimeen – 4, cleaned and slit on the side (you can also use pomfret)

For the spice paste:

Shallots – 10

Onions – 1 big

Ginger – a 2″ piece

Garlic – 10 cloves

Chilly powder – 1 tbsp

Pepper powder – 2 tsp

Vinegar – 2 tsp

Curry leaves – 2 strands

Salt – to taste

Coconut oil – for frying

Tender banana leaves – to wrap the fish in while cooking