Meen Pollichathu

Meen Pollichathu – Kerala style Meen Pollichathu cooked in coconut oil covered with banana leaves – vazhayila. Traditionally done with karimeen – pearl spot fish. Anthony Bourdain during his trip to Kerala compared the technique of cooking the fish in banana leaf to the classic french technique of fish en papillote (fish steamed in parchment pouches). The flavor penetrates well into the fish and the aroma of banana leaf is divine. This is one of the very classic preparation that everyone loves.

First, lets marinate the fish briefly. I don’t get karimeen – pearl spot fish here. You can use a good thick cut of fish and it works just fine. Sprinkle salt, turmeric and chilli powder on both sides of the fish and spread it evenly all over the meat. Marinate the fish for 10 minutes. Set aside.

Fry the fish in a tablespoon of coconut oil. Fry for one to two minutes on each side. The fish might take more time to cook if its thick. I just cooked for a minute on each side. We will again cook it in banana leaf. So do not over cook the fish else the fish will become hard and dry. Use your own judgement. Remove from heat and set aside on a plate to cool.

Now lets make the masala. Traditionally, Indian shallots (small onions) are used for making the masala. Onions can be used too! Heat coconut oil in a pan and add in the chopped onions, curry leaves and crushed ginger. Fry till the onions are soft and starting to brown.

Add in the chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and salt. Fry till the tomatoes are cooked and juicy. Add in the fresh shredded coconut and coriander leaves. Remove from heat and mix well to combine. Set aside.

Lets get the banana leaves ready for wrapping. The banana leaves need to be wilted. Using the raw leaf would likely tear when folded. To avoid this problem, it needs to be wilted on fire. Run the banana leaf on fire for 2-3 seconds. The leaf would have become soft. Set aside. Just mere seconds is good enough. Do not show the leaf on fire for a long time. It might burn.

Take a big piece of wilted banana leaf and add in two tablespoon of the prepared masala in the center. Add a piece of the fried fish and cover the fish with two tablespoon of masala.

Fold the banana leaf to make a small packet. Fold from both the sides.

Fold again on the top and bottom. Place it seam side down so it does not open. Repeat with all the fish pieces. Set aside.

Place the prepared pockets on a pan and cook for 5 minutes on a low flame, seam side down first. Cover the pan with a lid and cook.The flavor of the banana leaf will penetrate well on a covered pan.

Turn the pockets and cook again for five minutes. Cover with a lid and cook.

Remove from heat and serve with lime / lemon wedges. This dish is traditionally served as is or accompanied with Kerala matta rice.

For Frying Fish

• 4 slices of fish filet
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

For the masala

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 20 shallots or 2 onions, chopped
• 3 sprigs curry leaves
• 1 inch piece ginger, minced
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sprigs coriander leaves
• 2 tablespoon fresh shredded coconut

Other ingredients

• 4 - 5 foot banana leaf
• 4 - 5 lime / lemon wedges

For Frying Fish

1. Sprinkle salt, turmeric and chilli powder on both sides of the fish and spread it evenly all over the meat. Marinate the fish for 10 minutes. Set aside.
2. Fry the fish in a tablespoon of coconut oil. Fry for one minute on each side. Remove from heat and set aside on a plate to cool.

For the Masala

1. Heat coconut oil in a pan and add in the chopped onions, curry leaves and crushed ginger. Fry till the onions are soft and starting to brown.
2. Add in the chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and salt. Fry till the tomatoes are cooked and juicy.
3. Add in the fresh shredded coconut and coriander leaves. Remove from heat and mix well to combine. Set aside.

Cooking the fish in banana leaves

1. Run the banana leaf on fire for 2-3 seconds. The leaf would have become soft. Set aside.
2. Take a big piece of wilted banana leaf and add in two tablespoon of the prepared masala in the center. Add a piece of the fried fish and cover the fish with two tablespoon of masala.
3. Fold the banana leaf to make a small packet. Place it seam side down so it does not open. Repeat with all the fish pieces. Set aside.
4. Place the prepared pockets on a pan and cook for 5 minutes on a low flame, seam side down first. Cover the pan with a lid and cook. Turn the pockets and cook again for five minutes. Cover with a lid and cook.
5. Remove from heat and serve with lime / lemon wedges.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Side Dish
• Cuisine: Kerala

For Frying Fish

• 4 slices of fish filet
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

For the masala

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 20 shallots or 2 onions, chopped
• 3 sprigs curry leaves
• 1 inch piece ginger, minced
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sprigs coriander leaves
• 2 tablespoon fresh shredded coconut

Other ingredients

• 4 - 5 foot banana leaf
• 4 - 5 lime / lemon wedges

For Frying Fish

1. Sprinkle salt, turmeric and chilli powder on both sides of the fish and spread it evenly all over the meat. Marinate the fish for 10 minutes. Set aside.
2. Fry the fish in a tablespoon of coconut oil. Fry for one minute on each side. Remove from heat and set aside on a plate to cool.

For the Masala

1. Heat coconut oil in a pan and add in the chopped onions, curry leaves and crushed ginger. Fry till the onions are soft and starting to brown.
2. Add in the chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and salt. Fry till the tomatoes are cooked and juicy.
3. Add in the fresh shredded coconut and coriander leaves. Remove from heat and mix well to combine. Set aside.

Cooking the fish in banana leaves

1. Run the banana leaf on fire for 2-3 seconds. The leaf would have become soft. Set aside.
2. Take a big piece of wilted banana leaf and add in two tablespoon of the prepared masala in the center. Add a piece of the fried fish and cover the fish with two tablespoon of masala.
3. Fold the banana leaf to make a small packet. Place it seam side down so it does not open. Repeat with all the fish pieces. Set aside.
4. Place the prepared pockets on a pan and cook for 5 minutes on a low flame, seam side down first. Cover the pan with a lid and cook. Turn the pockets and cook again for five minutes. Cover with a lid and cook.
5. Remove from heat and serve with lime / lemon wedges.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Side Dish
• Cuisine: Kerala

Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/meen-pollichathu-karimeen-pollichathu/

We call this onion thattai back home as udumalpettai thattai. This is a family favorite and loved by everyone at home. If the normal thattai and onion pakoda married together, the result would be this amazing onion thattai murukku or thattu vadai as its called at our place. Its incredibly crispy and very tasty. This again is a recipe from the snack queen of the house, Padma Akka (Vinodh’s Sister) .

Soak the raw rice in water for one hour. After soaking for an hour, drain the water completely and dry the rice by spreading evenly on a cloth for 2 hours. The rice needs to dry in shade. Not under the sun.

Once the rice is dried and has very little moisture left, grind to a fine powder in a mixie. Usually the rice is ground to a fine powder by giving it in a rice mill. If grinding at home, grind in very small quantities in a mixie until its smooth. If grinding at home, remember that it will be very slightly grainy and not perfectly smooth. Grind as smooth as you can. Once the powder is ready, sieve and set aside.

Grind the fried gram dal (pottukadalai in tamil) – also called as the chutney dal to a fine powder. Sieve on top of the ground rice flour. Set aside.

Add in a cup of chopped onion and chopped curry leaves. Grind the dried red chillies to big flakes in a mixie and add it to the bowl.

Add in the ghee and the salt.

Add 125 ml of water to begin with. Mix well to form a pliable dough. If the dough is very dry, add in a tablespoon of water at a time and mix. Don’t be tempted to add a lot of water. We need a tight dough. Don’t make the dough very soft. It might become messy when shaping them into thattai, and will consume a lot of oil. Set aside. Let the dough rest for half an hour before frying.

Take a big marble size piece of dough and spread it on a plastic wrap with your hands to form a circle. The circle need not be perfect. The edges might crack a little and that’s fine. If its really difficult to spread, and the dough is cracking a lot, add a tablespoon of water to the dough to make it a little soft. But use caution not to mess up the dough. Get 5-6 thattais ready on the plastic wrap before you start frying.

Heat oil in a pan until hot. Gently remove the spread dough from the plastic wrap and place it in oil. Gently turn the thattai after 40 seconds. Wait for it to be golden and the bubbles in oil to have considerably subsided.

Remove and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Tips for making thattai: If the murukku is hard to the bite, add in a teaspoon of ghee to the dough and mix well. Fat makes the murukku softer. Don’t add a lot of ghee. The murukkus will lose its crispiness and will turn out to be softer. Add ghee only if really necessary. If the dough is really dry, then add in a tablespoon of water to make it pliable. Murukku making is a very patient process. This recipe for thattai murukku took about an hour to fry. I fried 5 thattais at one time. You can fry more in a bigger pan if you want to speed up the frying.

Store the onion thattai murukku in a paper lined air tight box for up-to 10 days. It has never lasted that long at my place.

• I used rice cups for measurement. 1 rice cup = 160ml
• 2 Cups Raw Rice
• 1 Cup Fried Gram Dal (Pottu Kadalai)
• 1 Cup Chopped Onions
• 10 Curry Leaves, Chopped
• 6 Dried Red Chillies, Chopped
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Ghee
• 125 - 150 ml water

1. Soak the raw rice in water for one hour. After soaking for an hour, drain the water completely and dry the rice by spreading evenly on a cloth for 2 hours. Grind to a fine powder in a mixie. Sieve.
2. Grind the fried gram dal to a fine powder. Sieve on top of the ground rice flour. Set aside.
3. Add in a cup of chopped onion and chopped curry leaves. Grind the dried red chillies to big flakes in a mixie and add it to the bowl.
4. Add in the ghee and the salt.
5. Add 125 ml of water to begin with. Mix well to form a pliable dough. If the dough is very dry, add in a tablespoon of water at a time and mix.
6. Let the dough rest for half an hour before frying.
7. Take a marble size piece of dough and spread it on a plastic wrap with your hands to form a circle.
8. Heat oil in a pan until hot. Gently remove the spread dough from the plastic wrap and place it in oil. Gently turn the thattai after 40 seconds. Wait for it to be golden and the bubbles in oil to have considerably subsided.
9. Remove and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining dough.
10. Store the onion thattai murukku in a paper lined air tight box for up-to 10 days.

Notes

Tips: If the murukku is hard to the bite, add in a teaspoon of ghee to the dough and mix well. Fat makes the murukku softer. Don’t add a lot of ghee. The murukkus will lose its crispiness and will turn out to be softer. Add ghee only if really necessary. If the dough is really dry, then add in a tablespoon of water to make it pliable. Murukku making is a very patient process. This recipe for thattai murukku took about an hour to fry. I fried 5 thattais at one time. You can fry more in a bigger pan if you want to speed up the frying.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 3 hours
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Category: Snacks
• Cuisine: Tamilnadu