Ashtamudi herbal fish – an explosion of flavours

Ashtamudi Lake is home to some of the best fresh water fish. Azhuka or hamour fish from Ashtamudi Lake would be perfect for this herbal fish recipe. A special herbal paste made using locally sourced herbs and leaves is used as the marinade. The herbal paste is a flavour bomb that complements the natural flavour of the freshwater fish. Check out the interesting recipe of Ashtamudi herbal fish.

Ingredients

1 Ashtamudi hamour or any other freshwater fish
Rock salt as required
20 gms pepper corns
A hand full of curry leaves
100 ml coconut oil
2 mango leaves
2 lime leaves
5 sprigs of tamarind leaves
5 shallots
10-15 bird eye chilies (or green chilies)

Preparation

Clean the fish and score it
Marinate with rock salt and crushed pepper corns
Fry a palm full of curry leaves in coconut oil
Set them aside to be used later
Take the mango leaves, lime leaves, tamarind leaves, fried curry leaves, shallots and bird eye chilies in a mixer jar
Make sure to separate the leaves from the sprigs
Blend well into smooth paste
The paste should be blended by adding a bit of the coconut oil in which the curry leaves were fried; do not add water
The fried curry leaves would make the herbal paste flavoursome and aromatic
Marinate the fish with this herbal paste and the juice of 1 lemon
Soften a plantain leaf by running it over the flame
Spread some curry leaves on the softened plantain leaf
Place the marinated fish
Sprinkle some coconut oil on the fish
Wrap the plantain leaf into a packet
Heat coconut oil in a thick bottomed pan
Place the plantain leaf packet in hot oil
Each side should be grilled for 8-10 minutes
Enjoy the Ashtamudi herbal fish with kappa purattiyathu.