Patrani Machchi Recipe
©Deepa Somasunderam
This steamed fish delicacy is a must-try.
This fish dish is a Parsi delicacy and easy enough to make for a weeknight meal. The mint and coriander give it a lovely freshness and steaming the fish gives it a softness.
The Parsi people are a group of Zoroastrians who fled persecution during the Arab conquest of Persia in the seventh century. With these early roots, Parsi culture and cuisine has evolved over the years into a worldly mix of unbeatable flavours, textures and ingredients.
Patrani Machchi is a classic Parsi dish, cooked for generations and extremely popular to this day. To bring you the most authentic recipe, we spoke to Zarnak Sidhwa, an established Pakistani chef from the Parsi community in Karachi.
Meet the Chef
Zarnak Sidhwa is a Parsi chef living in Karachi, Pakistan. A household name in Pakistan, she features on Masala TV which is a 24 hour food channel on HUM TV and the show Food Diaries. She also runs a catering service which includes a range of Parsi dishes and items such as her homemade granola.
Serves: 4
Ingredients
½ kg fish fillets
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon oil (vegetable or coconut)
Oil to shallow fry
Green Chutney
1 bunch coriander leaves
½ bunch mint leaves
5 - 6 garlic cloves
4 tbsp desiccated coconut
10 - 15 green chillies
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Juice of 2 lemons
Instructions
Grind the green chutney by putting all ingredients in a blender with very little water, it should not be very runny.
Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the chutney to make it moist.
Apply salt and turmeric to fish and let marinate for few minutes and then wash off.
Liberally apply chutney to the fish.
Put fish in butter paper, foil or banana leaves. Steam over hot water in a steamer till fish is done.
Serve the fish in the leaves or foil parcels.
Zarnak’s special tips
Fish can also be put in banana leaves and enclosed with a piece of thread and then baked or shallow fried or steamed.
If using banana leaves, then singe or soften them first by holding them over a low flame.
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