Pomfret (Avoli) is one of the fleshy and tasty fish varieties popular in Kerala. There are several Kerala style recipes that do justice to the versatility of this marine fish that has a huge fan following among seafood lovers all over the world. Roasting the fish in a banana leaf wrap is one delicious way to cook pomfrets.
6-7 cleaned pomfrets (palm-sized)
For marination
2 1/2 tbsp pepper pods
15 bird's eye chilli (kanthari)
1 ginger
15 garlic pods
15 small onion
5-6 slices of raw mango(6-7 Irumban puli /bilimbi can be used instead of raw mangoes too)
1 cup curry leaves, mint leaves, coriander leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1-2 pinches fenugreek powder and fennel powder (uluva and perumjeerakam)
Lemon juice squeezed from 1 large lemon
1 tbsp coconut
Salt to taste
Banana leaf and fibre as required
The ingredients except lemon juice, coconut oil and the powders should be ground together into a coarse paste
Mix lemon juice, the powder ingredients and coconut oil to the mixture
Take half of the mixture and coat each whole fish with the masala
Set it aside
Wilt the banana leaves over flame until they are soft and yielding and slightly brownish
Tear the leaves into smaller pieces that can hold one fish each
Now, spread some of the masala on each leaf and place a fish on it
Spread a little more masala on top of the fish and fold the leaf over it
Tie up each banana leaf packet with the fibre from the leaves
This will secure the packets without damaging the fish
Place a tawa over the stove and spread some coconut oil on it
Lay out the banana wraps on the tawa and cover it with a lid
Let it cook for a few minutes on low flame
Keep flipping them over every few minutes until both sides are cooked
Let the banana leaves turn brown and crispy
When the leaves are about to get charred, switch off the flame and remove the tawa from the heat
The hot and steaming pomfrets can be unwrapped and devoured with rice, pathiri, vellappam or nan as you choose.
