Talking of stuffed breads or parathas, we tend to only think of aloo parathas or kulchas, but the Malabari cuisine has its own very special assortment of stuffed rice breads, and one of its most delicious variants is the fish pathiri.
Ingredients
To make dough for Pathiri
250 gm Ponni rice immersed in hot water for 3-4 hours, drained and kept aside
1 cup coconut
1tbsp shallots chopped
½ tsp fennel seeds powdered
½ tsp jeera powder
Salt as required
For the fish fry
250gm fish
1 tsp chilli powder
A little turmeric powder
Salt as required
Oil for frying
For the coconut paste
1 cup coconut
A little turmeric powder
2 pods of cardamom
1 inch piece cinnamon
2 pods of clove
Water as required
For the masala
250gm onion
1 tomato
4-5 slit green chillies
1 ½ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
Preparation
Soak the rice in an open pan of hot water for 3-4 hours. Wash and drain
Add the next 5 ingredients to the rice
Grind the coconut with all the listed ingredients. Dilute the coconut paste with 100 ml of water.
Marinate the fish for 15 minutes in a paste of turmeric and chilli powders and salt. Heat oil in a frying pan and deep-fry the fillets
For the masala
Heat 2 tbsp oil or ghee in a pan
Put in chopped onion, green chillies, curry leaves, 1 tsp each of ginger paste and garlic paste, and coriander leaves
Saute until the onions are soft and lightly brown
Add the diced tomato to it
Keeping the flame low, saute the mix until the ingredients blend well together
Add 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp chilli powder, ¼ tsp turmeric powder and salt
Add ½ cup water and let it boil
Once after it boils, add the coconut paste to it
Wait till the gravy thickens
Now, add the fried fish to the gravy
Pour over a little of the oil saved after frying the fish into the gravy
To assemble the pathiri
Take the dough for making pathiri that was kept aside
Smear a little oil on your palms
Pinch out a sizeable round ball from the dough and roll with your palm
Smear some oil on a piece of plantain leaf
Place the slightly flattened dough on the leaf
With your palm flatten it out to a circular shape
Make one more pathiri the same way
Now, take the masala and smear a little of it over the first pathiri. Place a fish piece and then smear a little more of the masala on top
On the second pathiri, smear some masala at the centre
Place it gently over the first pathiri
Seal their edges together and make sure it's closed tight
Shape it up once again by patting the sides gently
Repeat the process to make another one of the stuffed pathiri
Steam them in a traditional steamer for about 45 minutes
Once cooked, transfer them to a plate
Fish Pathiri is all set to be relished
