Bhetki Macher Paturi Recipe

Bhetki Macher Paturi or Sea Bass cooked in mustard paste

It has been quite some time since I made a Bengali dish. Both I and my brother were bored with the chicken dishes I usually made. I have never experimented with fish. Frankly, I suck at fish recipes. I am scared as in how to cook the fish pieces perfectly? But this time, to hell with fear! I was determined to master it. 

I sat in front of my laptop for two full days, I did some research. How long the fish should be baked? What marinade to use? How to know whether the fish is rightly cooked?

It was hard. But, nothing is that hard if we do it with a smile and with the right purpose. Right!?

My “Fish Adventure” started with this beautiful, tiring, aromatic dish. Bhetki Macher Paturi or Sea Bass (in English) is a Bengali dish made by marinating the Bhetki fillets in Mustard paste. Mustard is the dominant flavour of this dish. Though the process is a bit tiring, first the marinade, then the wrapping (took around 45 minutes), lastly the baking, the end result is simply amazing. My family loved it. I couldn't be any less prouder. My efforts did pay off!! *Awesome me* LOL JJJJ

~~The Recipe~~

Ingredients:

10 Bhetki fillets

6 tbsp Mustard (yellow) Paste
1.5 tsp Garlic paste
1 tsp Ginger paste
3 tbsp Coconut (grated)

4 tbsp Mustard oil

6 Green Chillies paste (as per preference)

2 tbsp Onion Paste

1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Lemon Juice

Banana leaves or plaintiff leaves (as per required)

Salt to taste

Procedure:

1) Soak the mustard seeds in water for about 15 minutes. Drain the water. Add some salt to the mustard seeds and grind to a fine paste.

2) Now, mix the mustard paste, half the mustard oil, the green chilli paste, the onion paste, the ginger paste, the garlic paste, turmeric powder, coconut paste, lemon juice and salt. Make a fine smooth paste.

3) Thoroughly, rub the mustard paste all over the fish fillets. Keep aside the marinated fish for about an hour or more.

4) Meanwhile, heat water in a huge bowl. For few seconds, soak the banana leaves in the hot water. This is to ensure that the leaf does not break while wrapping the fish fillets.

5) After about an hour or more, place the marinated fish fillet on a banana leaf and fold the leaf properly into an envelope or a packet. Tie the packet with a thread. Repeat the same procedure for the other fillets.

6) Take a kadhai and grease it with some mustard oil and place one or two large banana leaves over it so as to cover the base of the kadhai. Place all the fish packets side by side on the banana leaves. Drizzle some mustard oil over the fish packets. Cover the kadhai with a tight lid (to avoid the passage of steam) and cook for 10 minutes each on both sides.

Garnish with Green chillies and serve hot with steamed white rice.