Required

Fish 3 lbs. rice I lb. ghee 1/2 lb, ginger 1/4 lb. cassia leaves 1/4 tola, pepper 1 tola, a few red peppers, coriander seeds 1/4 lb., garam-masalla 1 tola, salt 4 tolas.

Method

Take off the scales and intestines of a fresh fish and cut it into big pieces. It will be the best if only the middle portion of a fish weighing 6 or 7 lbs be taken. Wash the pieces of fish thoroughly with clean water. Wash the ginger, coriander seeds and peppers, and make a paste of the ginger. Tie the paste of ginger and the entire corianders and peppers loosely in a clean piece of cloth. Now drop the pieces of fish and the bundle of spices along with the salt in 4 lbs of boiling water and put the lid on. After about 15 minutes take out the pieces of fish excepting the head which is to be taken out when properly boiled. Take down the pot when the juice is only 2 lbs. If you like you may brown the pieces of fish in ghee or oil without boiling them but the head whether fried or not must be boiled.

Heat about 1/4 lb. of ghee in a boiling pot and put the cassia leaves and the garam-masalla, all entire, and a few red peppers broken in two, in it. When the smell of the spices evolves, put the rice, washed and dried, in it and stir. After 6 or 7 minutes when the rice are properly fried add the akhni water ( i. e. the juice of the fish and r spices ) and cover with the lid. The boiled peppers may ibe pasted and added with the akhni water. Apply gentle "heat and take down when the rice are fully boiled. Then Etnake a hole in the boiled rice, put a few pieces of fish in it and cover it up with rice again. Do this till all the pieces of fish are buried in the rice. Lastly add the rest of the ghee after heating it. Keep the polao hot for about an hour before serving. Fried onions may be taken with the palao.