Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Bharleli Paplet
Bharleli Paplet (Spicy Bream Stuffed with Onions, Garlic & Tomatoes)

Bharleli Paplet

Spicy Bream Stuffed with Onions, Garlic & Tomatoes
Non-vegetarian

Whole bream stuffed with a slow-cooked onion, tomato and raisin filling, scented with turmeric, chilli and coriander. It eats rich, tangy and gently spicy, with crisp roasted skin.

Marinade turmeric

3 gStirred into the fish marinade (step 2)
01
3 g1 teaspoon
spice
Mix with the oil, lemon juice and salt before rubbing onto the fish.

Ground spices for the filling

4.4 gStirred into the onion-tomato filling with the raisins (step 9)
Keep ground and add both to the pan together.

Everything else

01
Sea bream · Machhliwhole, or any medium flat white fish, scaled and gutted (about 300 g (10½ oz) each)
1000 g2 breams
fish
02
81 g6 tablespoons
oil/fat
03
25 g½ lemon
fruit
04
to taste
salt
05
Garlic · Lehsunroughly chopped
24 g8 cloves
aromatic
06
Fresh ginger · Adrakroughly chopped
20 g5 cm
aromatic
07
450 g
vegetable
08
Tomato · Tamatarfinely chopped
280 g
vegetable
09
16 g1 tablespoon
vegetable
10
18 g2 tablespoons
fruit
11
50 g1 lemon
fruit
12
~30 ghandful
herb

Method

  1. Lay 1000 g sea bream on a board and cut shallow slashes through the skin on both sides.
  2. In a bowl, stir 3 g ground turmeric into 15 g of the 81 g vegetable oil, 10 g of the 25 g lemon juice and salt to taste.
  3. Rub the turmeric mixture over both fish, inside and out, then leave them aside.
  4. Blend 24 g garlic, 10 g ginger and a splash of water to a paste.
  5. Heat the rest of the 81 g vegetable oil in a wide non-stick pan over medium heat.
  6. Add 450 g thinly sliced white onion and cook for 25–30 minutes, stirring often, until soft and browned.
  7. Stir in the garlic-ginger paste and cook for 2–3 minutes.
  8. Add 280 g finely chopped tomato and 15.6 g tomato purée; cook for 7–8 minutes, stirring.
  9. Add the ground spices for the filling and 18 g raisins; cook for 3–4 minutes.
  10. Season with salt, stir in the remaining 15 g lemon juice and 30 g chopped coriander, then take off the heat and let cool.
  11. Heat the oven to 200°C fan (425°F).
  12. Divide the cooled filling into three; use one third to stuff each fish and spread the last third over the base of a baking dish.
  13. Cover the base filling with 50 g lemon slices, set the stuffed fish on top and roast for 20–25 minutes, until the skin is crisp.

Don't have something?

Sea bream
  • Sea bass

    Use the same weight; reduce cooking by 1–2 minutes.

  • Pomfret

    Use the same weight; similar firm flesh, and score the skin if cooking whole.

  • Firm white fish fillet

    Use the same weight; reduce cooking by 2–3 minutes and handle gently.

Ground turmeric
  • Ground ginger

    Use 50% of the weight. Mimics turmeric's warm, earthy, rhizome background, but provides none of the golden-yellow colour.

  • Saffron

    Steep a tiny pinch (0.1 g per 2 g turmeric) in 2 tbsp warm water; use to match the rich golden hue. Contributes an aristocratic, honeyed floral flavour rather than earthy bitterness.

Vegetable oil
  • Peanut oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.

  • Ghee

    Use 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.

  • Mustard oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.

Lemon
  • Lime

    Use the same weight or juice amount; sharper, so taste before adding all the juice.

  • Lemon juice

    Use about 45–50 ml for 1 lemon; add off the heat to keep the freshness.

  • Dried mango powder

    Use 1 tsp for the juice of 1 lemon; add early. Sourness is flatter and less fresh.

Garlic
  • Garlic paste

    Use equal weight. Fry gently in oil or ghee with the ginger; incorporates smoothly into curries without visible minced bits.

  • Garlic powder

    Use 15% to 20% of the weight (about 1 g for every 5 to 6 g fresh cloves). Whisk into sauces; gives a savoury, toasted garlic flavour without raw pungency.

  • Shallot

    Use 1.5 times the weight, very finely minced. Sauté until golden; provides savoury allium sweetness, though it lacks garlic's pungent sulphur bite.

Fresh ginger
  • Ginger paste

    Use equal weight. Sauté in hot fat until the raw allium smell disappears; slightly wetter, but provides identical warmth and pungency.

  • Ground ginger

    Use 20% to 25% of the weight (1 g for every 4 to 5 g fresh). Stir into the gravy; adds peppery heat and warmth, though it misses the crisp, zesty kick of raw root.

White onion
  • Brown onion

    Use the same weight; it is the closest everyday match, with a slightly deeper sweetness when fried.

  • Red onion

    Use the same weight; it is sharper and will tint the dish pink, so cook a little longer for sweetness.

  • Shallot

    Use the same weight; it is milder and sweeter, so reduce frying time slightly to avoid burning.

Tomato
  • Tomato purée

    Use 40% to 50% of the fresh tomato weight mixed with a splash of water. Imparts a deeper red colour, thicker sauce, and slightly sweeter cooked flavour.

  • Plain yogurt

    Use 60% of the weight, whisked smooth and added on low heat. Provides rich body and sourness, though the gravy becomes paler and creamier.

Tomato purée
  • Tomato

    Use 200% to 250% of the weight. Finely grate or blend fresh tomatoes, then cook them down until the moisture evaporates and the oil separates.

Kashmiri chilli powder
  • Dried kashmiri chilli

    Grind deseeded dried pods to an equal weight of powder; gives identical vivid red colour and gentle warmth.

  • Red chilli powder

    Use 25% of the weight mixed with sweet paprika for colour; straight red chilli powder is substantially hotter and will make the dish fiery.

  • Chilli powder

    Use one-third of the weight; the sauce will be less intensely red and notably sharper in heat.

Ground coriander
  • Coriander seeds

    Dry-roast lightly in a pan and grind to a fine powder; use equal weight (1:1). Offers a noticeably fresher, brighter citrus note.

  • Ground cumin

    Use 50% to 75% of the weight. Lacks the floral, citrusy profile of coriander and turns the gravy heavier, earthier, and darker.

  • Garam masala

    Use 50% of the weight and stir in near the end of cooking. Adds warmth and depth since it contains ground coriander, but introduces stronger spices like clove and cinnamon.

Raisin
  • Dried plum

    Use equal weight, pitted and finely chopped. Lends a deeper, slightly more tart sweetness to curries and rice dishes.

  • Cashew nut

    Use equal weight. Fry lightly in ghee until golden; substitutes the burst of sweetness with a rich, buttery crunch.

  • Jaggery

    Use 30% of the weight, finely grated. Dissolve straight into the sauce to match the intended sweetness, though without the fruity chew.

Coriander
  • Coriander leaf

    Use equal weight, chopped fresh and stirred in off the heat or used as garnish. Matches the citrus-herbal profile identically.

  • Mint

    Use 40% to 50% of the weight; chop finely and add at the very end. Adds fresh herbal brightness, but shifts the aroma toward cool menthol.

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Whole Roasted Sea Bream with Black Pepper, Curry Leaves, Tamarind & Chilli tastes tangy from tamarind and lemon, peppery and curry-leaf aromatic with a soft steamed texture, compared with this dish’s rich tomato-raisin filling, lemon tang and crisp roasted skin.
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