Coating fish with an intense spice mix and cooking it in banana leaves is a traditional technique from Kerala. The leaves protect the spices from burning and seal the flavours inside, keeping the fish moist. The charred leaves are then discarded before serving. Banana leaves are available from some Indian, Thai and Caribbean food shops. If you can’t get hold of them, place the fish in a hot pan to caramelise it underneath then cover the pan with foil, making sure that it doesn’t touch the fish, and finish cooking.

Ingredients

Serves 4

Prep 40min
Cook 10min

4x150g sea bream fillets, scaled and pin-boned
½tsp red chilli powder
½tsp salt
Juice of ½ lime
4 banana leaves, cut into 25–30cm squares
1tbsp vegetable/corn oil

For the spice crust:
5 shallots, peeled
4 garlic cloves, peeled
20 black peppercorns
1tsp red chilli powder
20 curry leaves, finely shredded
2tbsp vegetable/corn oil
1½tsp salt
1tsp sugar
3tbsp white vinegar

For the green mango and coconut chutney:
3 green mangoes, peeled and diced
80g grated fresh coconut
1 shallot, sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled
2tsp red chilli powder
1tbsp vegetable/corn oil
1tsp salt
½tsp sugar
3tbsp water

Method

Sprinkle the sea bream fillets with the red chilli powder, salt and lime juice and set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.

For the spice crust, pound the shallots, garlic and peppercorns to a coarse paste in a pestle and mortar. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Heat the banana leaves in a hot frying pan until they are soft and pliable (or heat them in a microwave for about 30 seconds). Cover the bream fillets on both sides with the spice crust, wrap each one in a banana leaf, then set aside.

For the chutney, put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend to a smooth paste, adding a little more water if required.

To cook the fish, heat the tablespoon of oil in a heavy-based frying pan. Place the wrapped-up bream fillets in the pan, then cover and cook over a low heat for 3–5 minutes on each side. Remove the leaves and serve the bream with the chutney.

A rich Coriander mash makes an excellent accompaniment to grilled or roast fish — even better when it’s spiced, as in this recipe. The juices from the fish work as a sauce, to be soaked up by the mash.


Recipes are from The Cinnamon Club Seafood Cookbook, published by Absolute Press, priced £15. The book is available from Times BooksFirst (0870 1608080) for £13.50 incl postage and packing.

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