Fresh fish marinated with mustard and chilli wrapped in bottle gourd leaf and steamed — a traditional Tripuri technique of cooking fish inside leaf parcels for a uniquely fragrant result.
Ingredients
400g fresh fish fillets or pieces
1 tbsp mustard paste (1 tsp mustard seeds soaked 15 minutes and ground with 2 tbsp water)
2 green chillies — finely chopped
1 tsp ginger — grated
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp mustard oil
8 to 10 bottle gourd leaves or banana leaves — for wrapping
OR use banana leaves or parchment paper if bottle gourd leaves are unavailable
Method
Add fish pieces. Coat each piece thoroughly with the mustard-chilli marinade. Marinate 15 minutes.
Mix mustard paste, finely chopped green chillies, grated ginger, turmeric, salt and mustard oil together in a bowl.
If using bottle gourd leaves: wash them. Wilt each leaf briefly over a flame or in boiling water for 10 seconds — just enough to make them flexible without tearing.
If using banana leaves: wipe clean and briefly pass over a flame to soften.
Set up a steamer with boiling water.
Take one large wilted leaf (or 2 overlapping smaller leaves).
Place 1 to 2 pieces of marinated fish in the centre.
Fold the leaf over to completely enclose the fish. Fold in the sides to make a neat parcel. Secure with a toothpick or thin bamboo skewer.
Arrange the parcels in the steamer. Steam on medium heat for 15 to 18 minutes until the fish is completely cooked through — it should feel firm when pressed through the leaf.
Open the parcels at the table — the fish inside has absorbed a subtle vegetal fragrance from the leaf. Serve with steamed rice.