PATURI MACCH / FISH COOKED EN PAPILLOTE IN A MUSTARD & COCONUT SPICE PASTE
This is a version of the Bengali mustard fish I have become mildly obsessed with for how easy and flavorful it is.
A spice paste of grain mustard, fresh or desiccated coconut, ginger, garlic, green chilli, lemon juice, mustard oil, red chilli powder, turmeric, and the mysterious addition of a stock cube is slathered over cod fillets which are left to marinate for a while.
The fish is then wrapped in banana leaves, parchment, or foil, steamed for 25 mins, and finally charred on a pan before serving.
I used salmon, a mix of dijon and freshly-ground (soaked) black mustard seeds, skipped the stock cube (why even?), wrapped in parchment, then steamed in a shallow pan for 7 mins and charred in the same pan for a minute on each side. (I think my fish was 2 mins overcooked, so I don’t know how thick those cod fillets that need 25 mins + char time are.)
The coconut yields a milder flavor profile than I am used to, but this is a lovely preparation, one of my favorites (second only to Parsi Patra-ni-macchi, which is very similar but swaps fresh cilantro and mint for mustard.)
I ate it with rice, turkish-style green beans stewed in tomato sauce, and mixed dal loaded with vegetables.
A vegetarian version of the recipe (using paneer) is in the Google books preview under Chhena Paturi.
