Last time I have shared my Ilish Paturi recipe
with you. The paturi preparation goes very will with Bhetki fish also. The basic
thing is that you need soft fish which gets cooked very quickly. The same holds
true for both Ilish and Bhetki and thus we prepare paturi with both the fishes.
In rainy season, we enjoy Ilish nad similarly Bhetki has its reign over our
kitchen in the winter.
But some of us, who live outside Bengal, it
never easy to get fresh banana leaf for the paturi. Though Bengali has their
own alternative, i.e, Lau Pata (Gourd Leaf) to make paturi, it is equally
difficult to get outside Bengal. Moreover, Gourd leaf adds some different
flavour to your paturi which may seem a bit unfamiliar to your taste buds.
In the last winter, I was eager to make bhetki
paturi while staying in Delhi but there was no banana leaf. So what? If you are
passionate about food (what most Bengalis are!) and if you have little
imaginative ideas, then nothing can hold you back. Therefore, I tried to
prepare Bhetki paturi with Cabbage leaf !!! Extraordinary, eh? Yes, it was! Both
in terms of idea and taste.
The experiment was so much successful that my
husband told me that I should prepare paturi in cabbage leaf only even if the
banana leaves are available.
Want to have the recipe, right? Here it is…
Preparation Time – 30 mins, Cooking Time – 15
mins, Serving – 4
Ingredients:
1.
Bhetki – 4 pcs (heap or belly pieces)
2.
Cabbage leaf – 8 (preferably the top fresh green leaves, if
required collect them from more than one cabbage)
3.
Posto (Poppy seed)- 3 Tbsp
4.
Mustard – 3 Tbsp
5.
Coconut – ½
6.
Turmeric powder – ½ Tsp
7.
Red Chilli Powder – 1
Tsp
8.
Green chilli - 4 (slit
lengthwise)
9.
Salt – to taste
10.
Mustard Oil – 6 Tbsp
Method:
First, prepare the masala paste. For that, soak
the poppy seed (posto) and mustard seed in a little water. Meanwhile, grate the
coconut.
After that, make a smooth paste of posto,
mustard and coconut together.
Mix the paste with salt, turmeric, red chilli
powder and 2 tbsp of mustard oil. Add some water if required to make a smooth
mixture.
Now, blanch the cabbage leaf in warm salted water.
When soft, remove it from heat and wash in cold water.
Place one fish piece in the middle of one cabbage
leaf. Put 2-3 Tbsp masala paste over the fish. Coat the fish well with the
masala paste. Place one slit green chilli over the fish. Add few drops of
mustard oil. This will add some extra pungency which goes very well with any
fish preparation.
Place another cabbage leaf on the top of it
covering the fish completely. Tie it with some thread.
Repeat the process for other fish pieces too.
Heat some mustard oil (not much, just 3-4 Tbsp)
in a pan. When hot, place the wrapped fish into it. Cover the pan. Cook it in
low flame.
After few minutes, when the cabbage leaves
change their colour from one side, flip it over. So that the other side gets
cooked as well. If you feel that the cabbage leaf is getting too brown very quickly,
add some water in the pan. So that the fish can be cooked without getting the
leaf burnt.
When both the sides are brown in colour, remove
them from heat.
Remove the thread from the cabbage leaf wrapping
before serving.
Serve it with hot steamed rice. The taste is
nothing less that the authentic preparation with banana leaf. However, the
added benefit is that you can eat the cabbage leaf as well which is equally
tasty.
So, what to wait for?? Try it out in the next Sunday
and surprise your loved ones with this unique recipe
