Stuffed Mackerel is a Goan preparation of Mackerel wherein a coconut-spices mixture is stuffed in slits made in a mackerel and shallow fried till golden brown.
Ingredients
Mackerel : 12 medium sized
Onion : 2
Cinnamon : 1 inch piece
Cloves : 4
Peppercorns : 10-12
Bay Leaf: 1
Coriander seeds: 2-3 tsp
Garlic : 10 cloves finely chopped
Ginger: ¼ inch piece
Scraped Coconut: 1 cup
Dry Red Chillies: 5 small
Tamarind: 1 marble sized ball
Turmeric Powder: 2 n ½ tsp
Chilli Powder: 3 tsp
Salt: to taste
Semolina: for frying
Oil: for frying
Instructions
Clean the Mackerel and slit it vertically with a sharp knife just above the central fish bone. (Make sure that you do not slit all the way through the end).
Apply salt, 2 tsp Turmeric Powder and Chilli powder to the Mackerel. Keep aside.
Heat a little oil in a pan and stir fry the ginger and 2 cloves of garlic till brown. Add the cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaf and coriander seeds and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Remove and keep aside.
Heat oil in pan and stir fry one roughly chopped onion till translucent. Add scrapped coconut and stir fry till golden brown.
Grind the ginger-garlic-dry spices and onion-coconut mixture along with dry red chilies and tamarind. Use around ½ cup of water to grind to a smooth but not too watery paste.
Add one finely chopped onion and 7 finely chopped garlic flakes to the paste. Add salt and turmeric powder and mix well. Divide into 12 parts.
Take a part of ground mixture from step 6 and stuff it in the slit which you had earlier made in the Mackerel. Repeat for all the mackerels.
Heat oil in a flat frying pan. Apply semolina to the mackerels on all sides and shallow fry on the pan till golden brown on both sides.
Recipe by YourHungerStop at https://www.yourhungerstop.com/stuffed-mackerel/