Lau Patay Ilish Macher Paturi

  Take the ilish pieces and wash very gently under tap water and pat dry. Put the fish pieces on a plate and marinate them with 1/2 teaspoon turmeric and 1 teaspoon salt.

  Now take the mustard seeds in a grinder, add 4 green chilis, 3–4 tablespoons of water, and grind to make a smooth paste. Now add the scraped coconut to the grinder with 2 tablespoons of water and grind to make a fine paste.

  Pour the mixture into a bowl, add the rest of the salt, turmeric, and 4 tablespoons of oil, and mix well. Now pour the spice mixture on the fish pieces and marinate the fish. Keep it aside for 30 minutes.

  In the meantime, prepare the leaves. Boil some water. Take each Pumpkin leaf and dip it into the boiled water to make the leaf soft. Now grease the darker side with some mustard oil and keep it aside for later use.

  After 30 minutes, take each greased Pumpkin leaf, put 1 fish piece, put 2 tablespoons of the marination, top with 1 green chili, and bind with thread. This is a very delicate step, do not hurry, otherwise, the leaf can be torn. If one leaf is not enough, add another to support it. If you are using Banana leaf, lightly roast it on the flame to make it soft and foldable.

  The rest of the procedure is the same as with the Pumpkin leaf.

  Now heat a nonstick pan or a tawa, heat 2 tablespoons of mustard oil in it, place 2/3 of the fish parcels in it and cover the pan with a lid. Lower the flame and cook for 5 minutes on each side.

  Take the parcels out of the pan and serve them hot. If you want to deep fry them, heat enough oil in a pan, and deep fry each fish parcel. Remember, do not overcrowd the pan, one parcel at a time for deep frying. Now serve the Paturi with hot steamed rice. And remember to cut the thread before eating.

  Enjoy Ilish macher Paturi on a rainy day.

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