Steamed Gandharaj Lemon Bhetki Recipe

Steamed Gandharaj Lemon Bhetki

By Barnali Dutta | Posted on May 22, 2014

Steamed Bhetki flavored with fragrant Gandharaj lemon

One of the not-to-be-missed Bengali dishes is steamed lemon bhetki fish from Kolkata, and Bhetki fish especially needed to be from nearby sweet-water-based resources for this recipe, best to taste if it is cooked with fewer spices and does not let the spices overpower the fish taste.

Fish paupiette is a classic French preparation of thin fish fillets rolled around a filling and poached. In this recipe the fish is cooked like a roulade, like a braised dish. The word roulade originates from the French word “rouler” meaning “to roll”.

Cooking Tradition, Translation & Bengali Identity

Cooking elaborate food and spreading the table to show affection or in honor of people is the first step towards communication in Bengali culture and is also a tradition. Bengali culture became the representation of a small provincial culture in India, so my attempt of cooking in this blog is from traditional exercising of such choices that is of national representation of regional theme and ideas accepted internationally, though I feel a greater skill is required to bring them together in a meaningful way.

The choice of a good recipe is precisely choosing the most significant dishes. It must be a valid exercise, an attempt in this blog to introduce Bengali culture. The choice of ingredients and companion dishes are important; the wider their usage, the larger the scope of sustainability of the food item in this powerful international society, to bridge the gap of cooking traditions in space and time.

The deliberate choice of dishes today while working on nineteenth-century Bengali classic recipes is quite consciously oriented to present-day international cooking ideas for which people are searching. Tradition and modernity—these are the twin ideas of these dishes, skillfully evasive though forever impressive.

The very act of recipe translation entails filtering the image and idea of the traditional Bengali dish, raising questions: how much of oneself can one allow seeping into tradition while modernizing equipment and ingredients? A person of today working on nineteenth-century Indian classic dishes orients them to the expectations of present-day international cooking ideas.

I would like to make a few observations. It was hard to determine what constituted contemporary Indian cuisine. I was observing the time frame affecting the recipes and food habits of Bengal and Indian food. It obviously carries on to the present day.

I decided to include in my collection and begin my quest from early years, finding huge wealth both from cookbooks and literatures written in Bengali, which is so vast and varied that selecting only some recipes and sharing them within a small interval of time is almost impossible.

Gandharaj lemon, prized for its fragrance in Bengali cooking

Ingredients

• Skinless sweet-water Kolkata Bhetki fish fillet, thin 3-inch slices – 4 pieces

For Marination

• Salt – 1 teaspoon
• Gandharaj lemon juice – 1 tablespoon
• Crushed black pepper – 2 teaspoons
• Ginger & garlic paste – 2 teaspoons

For Lemon Butter

• Peeled and pitted lemon zest, green portion – 2 teaspoons
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice – 2 teaspoons
• Finely chopped lemon leaf – 1 tablespoon
• Melted salted butter – 50g
• Pepper powder – 1 teaspoon

For Filling Paupiette

• Soft kernel of green coconut – 1 tablespoon, made into paste
• Toasted peanut – 1 tablespoon, powdered
• Poppy seeds and white mustard seeds, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes – 2 teaspoons each, ground with 1 green chili, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons mustard oil
• Chopped coriander leaves and green chili – 2 teaspoons
• Red onion, finely diced – 2 teaspoons
• Sugar – 1/2 teaspoon

To Roll the Roulade

• Butter paper, 10-inch sheet – 4 pieces

Cook time: Approximately 50 minutes

Preparing the Bhetki roulade by rolling the fillet around the filling

Instructions

Prepare the Lemon Butter

1. Combine all the lemon butter ingredients in a bowl and season to taste with pepper.
2. If the butter tastes too acidic, adjust with a little salt and pepper powder.

Prepare the Filling & Roulade

1. Blend the coconut paste, peanut powder, poppy-mustard paste and sugar, leaving the diced onion, coriander leaves and green chili aside at first.
2. Mix in the chopped onion, coriander leaves and green chili.
3. Add half of the prepared lemon butter to this filling mixture and mix well. Set aside.
4. Trim each Bhetki fillet into roughly a 3 x 1/2-inch rectangle.
5. Using the back of a knife or a flat board, make the fish into thinner slices lengthwise.
6. Brush both sides with the marination mixture and leave for 15 minutes.
7. After 15 minutes, wipe the fish slices gently with clean kitchen paper to remove excess moisture.
8. Season again lightly with salt and pepper if needed.
9. Cut the butter paper into suitable sheets and arrange them on a flat surface.
10. Place each seasoned fish fillet seam-side down on separate butter papers.
11. Spread the filling mixture in the center of each fillet.
12. Roll the fillet carefully to enclose the filling completely into a cylindrical shape, using the butter paper to help seal it. Tie both ends lightly.
13. Repeat with the remaining fillets. Cover and refrigerate for up to 15 minutes.
14. Steam the roulades in a double boiler at a simmer until the fish is opaque and firm, about 18 to 20 minutes.
15. For serving, melt 2 tablespoons lemon butter in a skillet over moderate heat and drizzle over the cooked roulades.
16. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve immediately.