Fish Alberas from the Bene Israeli Community

Dwithiya Raghavan cooks from the evocative novel about the Bene Israeli community, Book of Rachel by Esther David.

Fish alberas is a fresh green colour that makes you feel warm, like ‘sleeping under a quilt on a winter morning.’ The curry is fragrant from fresh herbs, and has a sharp tang from kokum, mellowed by the subtle sweetness of coconut milk. In Book of Rachel, Esther writes that ‘the fish is the symbol of protection, because she does not have eyelids, and her eyes are always open and watchful, placed on both sides of her head. A fish is portrayed on the ornamental sign seen in Jewish homes, the hamsas, for protection and good luck.’

Recipe for Fish Alberas

Ingredients
1 large pomfret (about 500 g)
6 cloves garlic
½ inch piece ginger
Small bunch coriander leaves
10 mint leaves
2 green chillies
1 tomato
5 curry leaves
1 cup coconut milk
½ cup water
1 potato, peeled and chopped into six pieces
1 onion, finely chopped
A pinch of turmeric powder 
½ tsp cumin powder
2 tbsp oil
4 wet leaves or 8 dry leaves kokum
Salt to taste

Method
Clean the pomfret, remove the teeth, leave the eyes and chop the tail ends. Cut the fish into six or seven pieces, salt and set aside.
For the masala, grind together the garlic, ginger, coriander, mint, green chillies and tomato with very little water till you get a smooth paste.
Heat the oil in a pan wide-mouthed pan and splutter the curry leaves. Add the onions and cook till transparent.
Pour the masala mix into the pan and cook on a slow flame till the oil is absorbed. 
Add the coconut milk, water, turmeric and cumin powder. Put the potato into the masala and let cook for a few minutes. 
Add the fish and cook on a slow heat. When the fish is almost cooked, add the kokum leaves and continue to cook till the gravy thickens.

Photograph by Dwithiya Raghavan

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