Muslim Cookery- Fish: Meen Porichathu, Machchi Memoni

Machchi Memoni | Memoni Barbecued Fish

Ingredients:

• 500 gms any round fish like seer
• ½ lime
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup yogurt
• 4 tbsp oil

Spice paste

• 1 small onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 4 whole dried red chillies
• 1 tsp red Kashmiri chilli powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp cashew nuts, coarsely crushed
• 1”cinnamon stick
• 2 green cardamom pods

Garnish

1 lime, cut in 4 wedges

Method

1. Clean the fish and cut it into 1 ½ “square fillets. Wash well and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel.
2. Smear the fish with lime juice and salt and set aside for 2-3 hours in the refrigerator.
3. Grind the spice paste ingredients fine, adding a little water if required. Mix yogurt into the spice paste and marinate the fish in this for 2 hours in the refrigerator. Bring the fish to room temperature before cooking it.
4. Barbecue it on a barbecue pit or sigdi for 3 minutes on each side. Brush it with oil when almost done.
5. Lay it flat on a serving dish.
6. Garnish with lime wedges and serve immediately.

Source: Hajra’s Recipes of Life, for Life Delectable Muslim Cooking by Hajra Mohammed, Westland Ltd.

Meen Porichathu | Fried Fish

Ingredients

• Fish (any fish) 200 gm.
• Chilli powder 2 tsp.
• Turmeric powder ½ tsp.
• Aniseed 1 tsp.
• Garlic 4 cloves
• Cinnamon 4 cm. piece
• Cloves 2
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying

Method

1. Clean, cut and wash the fish.
2. Grind all the ingredients together to a paste.
3. Apply to the fish and put it aside for some time.
4. Shallow fry in oil and remove.

Source: Malabar Muslim Cookery by Ummi Abdulla, Orient Black Swan