Zamin Doz Machhli

Earlier recipe of "Zamin Doz Machhli" employed a different rustic technique. Wherein a whole fish is stuffed with spices, sealed in an earthenware case is buried in the ground and cooked by placing cow dung cake fire on the ground above. This requires more than 6-8 hours to cook. The dish can also be prepared in an oven by covering marinade and by baking in a casserole dish at the lowest temperature for approximately one hour.

Ingredients

1 kg: Sole fish
250 gm: Curd
100 gm: Gram flours
150 gm: Flour (For sealing)
50 gm: Aniseed powders
25 gm: Caraway powders
25 gm: Dessicated coconut
15 gm: Almonds
15 gm: Pistachio nuts
20 gm: Chironji
20 gm: Poppy seeds
20 gm: Ginger
20 gm: Garlic
1 tsp: Chilli powder
2 blades: Mace
6 pcs: Cloves
6 pcs: Pepper corns
4 pcs: Black cardamom
A pinch: Orange colour (edible)
1 tsp: Lemonn juice
1 tsp: Refined oil
Salt to taste

Method

First skin the fish neatly and wash it. Slit one side of the whole fish lengthwise. Apply salt to the fish after squeezing one lime juice. Keep the fish seperately for about fifteen minutes. Meanwhile make a paste of ginger and garlic.
Make a paste of blanched and peeled almonds, lightly roasted poppy seeds and chironji and dessicated coconut. Next, blanch and peel pistachio nuts. Chop it finer. Make a grinded paste of mace, cardamom, cloves and peppercorns.
Take the edible color, dissolve it in a teaspoon of water and apply it on the marinated fish. Mix the above in a bowl along with the ingredients left, leaving the pistachio nuts and the stuff inside the fish. Take a flat earthenware dish and grease it with oil. Place the fish in it and tight cover it. Bury the dish below the ground. Take cow-dung care and fire on the ground above the dish. It can be also substituted with charcoal fire. Cook for five to six hours.
Take out, open it and serve. Best to be served with roomali roti.