Karimeen Vazhayilayil pollichathu/Pearlspot dry fried on Banana leaf

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When someone says "karimeen", this evergreen malayalam song reverberates in my mind.."ayala porichathundu, karimeen varuthathundu, kudampuli ittu vacha nalla chemmen kariyundu" The heroine is elaborating on the dishes for lunch.  To woo her hero and win his heart. She sure believed "Stomach is the way to a man's heart." The translation is something like this:fried mackerel and pearl spot fry, kokum added prawns curry. For most of us listeners the song became a paradigm for cooking fish. If it is pearl spot, it's best fried! Go ahead and dispute it if you dare I have a whole state backing me up. :)

We have posted a "meen pollichathu" earlier. That is fried and then smothered in a wet gravy. Today's is smeared with masala, wrapped and fried in banana leaf



Ingredients:

Karimeen/Pearlspot- 2-3
Black pepper powder-2 tsp
Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Garlic paste- 1 Tbsp
Ginger paste- 1 Tbsp
Lemon juice- 1 tsp
Salt
Curry Leaves-2 sprigs
Banana leaves- for wrapping the fish
Coconut Oil- enough to spray on the leaf

Method:

1.Clean the fish by taking out the head with the parts in the stomach of the fish. Keep the tail intact.Make some shallow slits on the fish.
2.Prepare the marinade by mixing together all the ingredients, add a little water to make it a thick paste and rub it on the fish.
3.Heat an earthen pot on medium heat.Spray the coconut oil on the banana leaf and wrap the marinated fish in it.
4.Keep it in the pot and cook on low heat, turning the sides after every 2-3 minutes.
5.Serve warm with rice and a gravy of your choice.



Notes:

1.If pearlspot is not available you could use Pomfret instaed.
2.You could reduce the amount of pepper if you would like it to be mild.
Contributor: Namitha