INDULGE’s Daily Dish: Feast on fish tonight with Ghee Indian Kitchen’s eye-catching snapper

Since opening his first location of Ghee Indian Kitchen in Downtown Dadeland, chef Pushkar Marathe has been serving Miami diners authentic Indian cuisine with mostly locally sourced ingredients. Back in 2018, INDULGE interviewed the James Beard semifinalist for our Recipe section, where Marathe showed off a dish for seafood lovers that was almost impossible to get wrong.

Ghee’s menu style is based on fresh ingredients that don’t need much coaxing. That’s exemplified in the dish Marathe chose then: flaky fish made brighter and richer with a coconut chutney. At the restaurant, which is now offering takeout and delivery menus, it’s served whole and deboned, but you can buy filets to keep things simple. Marathe recommended snapper, because it’s easy to find locally, but he says any light white fish will do.

Chef Marathe coats the snapper in a coconut-herb paste, then steams it in toasted banana leaves. “This is the perfect dish for entertaining,” Marathe told writer Eric Barton. “Even if your guests arrive and you get distracted and let it cook five minutes extra, it will still be great. The coconut chutney will work as a baste to make it that much richer. No matter what you do, this is a dish that’s always perfect.”

Patra Ni Macchi (Snapper with Coconut Chutney)

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

4 snapper filets, 4-5 ounces each

2 limes, juiced

4 teaspoons salt, divided

1 cup fresh cilantro

1 cup fresh mint

¼ cup fresh ginger, peeled

1 serrano pepper

1 tablespoon white sugar

½ cup grated fresh coconut

2 lemons, juiced

4-5 ice cubes

4 banana or plantain leaves

Kitchen twine

Preparation:

Prepare and heat a steamer. Meanwhile, marinate the fish with the lime juice and 2 teaspoons of salt, refrigerated, for 10 minutes. Blend the cilantro, mint, ginger, serrano pepper, sugar, grated coconut, lemon juice, ice cubes and remaining salt until a paste is formed. Coat the filets all over with the chutney. Toast banana or plantain leaves over a flame for a few seconds, until pliable. Wrap the fish in the leaves, securing each package with kitchen twine. Steam the packages for about 10 minutes, longer for thicker filets. Serve with lime wedges and rice.

Ghee Indian Kitchen has locations in Downtown Dadeland and Miami Design District. For more information on their takeout and delivery menus, please visit gheemiami.com.

This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 6:00 AM.