Ayala Pollichathu - Mackerel roast in plantain leaves

This is yet another traditional Kerala recipe, in which fish is roasted in plantain leaves. There is a two step process in cooking fish, first by shallow frying and then roasted inside a plantain leaf covered with masalas.

So my experience with pollichathu was with Karimeen alone until this time, my favorite fish, which is called Pearl spot in English. All these while I haven't tried any other fish for this recipe. So let me tell you the story of how Ayala came into picture :D

This happened on one fine day, my mom in law was telling me that the women who brings fish has brought lots of Mackerel and many other fishes and convinced her to buy a lot of them. So she was in a confusion on what will we do with all these, as weekend was almost going to finish and everyone of us moving to different places. And the same curry or fry would be boring and won't be appreciated by the men's league at home :D

Then I went for helping her with the fish dilemma, she was having and put forward my suggestion. She was all relieved and told, "Yeah, Arun would like it, and you if are making so he won't have any complains" ;) That's somewhat true. My hubby never challenges my cooking and he says that he can expect a minimum guarantee when I am preparing. This is a compliment I keep close to my heart always :)

So I gathered everything needed for the fish and also went out home to find plantain leaves. The plantain leaf discovery usually at my home, ends hopeless, as now a days who will do plantain cultivation at city areas. I am lucky in that way, to get my second home at a place with all the traditional culture in and having a wide surrounded land where I can just step out my hubby's home to find almost all basic cultivation. The best things are using fresh curry leaves right from farm, and taking home grown tamarind from the big pot stored in outhouse by my mom in law and many other things. To cook from the things around us is such a happiness, you know :)

So back to the recipe, I have taken rectangle pieces of leaves which can well secure the fish and masala inside and you would need to tie it using a thread before pan toasting. Why an artificial thread when plantain has solution for that too, use the plantain threads in the bark or our own Vazha naaru :D

And you can trust me, all these efforts doesn't go waste, this is something so yummy, that your loved ones will just go over and over again praising you. Over to recipe now.

Ingredients:

Marinate:

Ayala or Mackerel, cleaned and gutted - 10 (I got medium ones)

Chilly powder - 2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Masala:                                                         

Coconut oil - 1 tbsp

Fennel seeds - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Onions chopped - 2 nos

Tomatoes chopped - 1 big

Green chillies chopped - 3 nos

Chilly powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt as required

Water - 2 tbsp

Frying:

Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

Marinade the fish in ingredients for marinate. Shallow fry fish pieces until both sides are done, flipping half way through. 

Prepare the masala in left over oil adding more if needed. Sputter mustard seeds and fennel seeds. Ads onions and sauté till soft. Add tomatoes and cook till oil separates. Now add chillies and all powders, cook for a min. Add water and cook till gravy thickens.

Roast the plantain leaves over burner so that the leaves won't get teared when folding. Place 2 spoon full masala and then fish and top.with masala again. Cover the plantain leaves and tie it securely. Heat a dosa tawa, iron griddle is the best. Place the tied fish on it and cook each side in medium heat for 5 minutes. No need to grease the tawa as the oil from fish will ooze out helping it to cook evenly.