Pearl spot/Karimeen Pollichathu-A Kerala Delicacy.

Location-A house in exact Kottayam, enroute Kumarakom.
Characters-Amma, Appa, Uncle, Brother, Big sis, Li'l sis.
Date and Time- 27th Jul '07-- 12.15pm.

Act-1 : Scene-1

Big Sis enters home, back from her last minute shopping, whistling an old malayalam song.Steps into the kitchen, pulled by a wonderful aroma, to find her Li'l sis a little gloomy.She seems to be little desperate with the fish getting cooked on the stove about it getting burnt outside with the inside, left a little (again)uncooked.The big sis, a lazy cook, gives some suggestions, out of her sheer experience in cooking, who is a fish lover,( with not much of experience with Non-veg cooking) falling for any kind of it, doesn't bother about the taste.Sampling some she admires her sister, a perfectionist in cooking.Together they decide to continue with their improvised tips.

Scene-2

Amma,who has helped her daughter with the marinade, enters the kitchen,after an urgent work upstairs.She too tastes a bit of it and admires her little daughter.The big sis is giving a hand to her li'l sister with the cooking part,simutaneously digging and fishing(the fish,of course)out the beauty, attempting to photograph the best one.The li'l sis stares angrily at the big sis now with her clear cut words that she is more concerned about her brother, to please him, who wanted the dish to be done and got the fish that morning, with much effort, paying through his nose.

Scene-3

The big sis with her camera focuses the fish,laid on the dining table.Big sis, who had been more used to picturing veggie dishes, learns the hard fact that fish is Not photogenic.Appa and Uncle encourage her and help her out with a few tips to improve the presentation.

Scene-4

In the kitchen, the sisters finish off with the fish.Brother,who has been away to the town enters and the family gather round the table and settle down for the Lunch, with all the fun and laughter appreciating the skills of their youngest family member.

***Curtains down.***

Verdict of the Sisters-

Pollichathu, especially when it comes to fleshy Karimeen/Pearl spots, require 20-30 minutes of slow cooking for EACH.A number of 9 fish were done that noon,on a twin stove and the whole procedure, lest the time to marinate, from start to finish took 3-4 hours.Blame the delicacy.

Here is my sister's recipe, reproduced;

What I Used:

Pearl Spot/Karimeen - 4, cleaned and slit on the side.

For the 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

How I Made It:

1. Make a paste with all the ingredients mentioned.

2. Marinate the fish well in the paste.It may not completely stick tothe fish, but make sure that it is mostly covered.


3. Place the fish in the banana leaf and wrap gently.

4. Pour some oil in a wok.Gently place the wrapped fish in, close with a lid and cook on a low fire till both sides are done. This took me around 30 mins, per fish.Garnish with onion rings, tomatoes, cucumber and a piece of lime.

I found an interesting version cum video clipping of the same dish.

Click HERE to view.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P.S-Thanks a lot for going through the long story(if you had) :)....
Wishing you all a Happy Independence day!

Tweet

Pin It