Ilish Macher Mathar Bhorta / Ilish fish Head Bhorta

 

This time my travel to Delhi was a bliss, as we could enjoy Hilsa to the fullest. My sister in law’s cook, belongs to a village in Sundarbans, where the Bangladesh border is very close by.  They make Bhorta with fish head at their home. This recipe has been shared by her.. 

We at home normally make Ilish head with malbar spinach / Pui Saag and vegetables or with kotchur loti / Taro Stolon or with Laau Saag / Bottle Gourd stem or with Cabbage etc. We as urban inhabitants don’t know many rustic dishes that are cooked in the villages. 

 It’s so scrumptious that just one plate of rice is required to finish the meal. 

Ingredients 

2 Hilsa fish head cut into 2 halves 

1 Big Onion sliced 

2 to 3 Garlic Cloves 

2 Green Chillies chopped as per your ability to eat spices 

Handful of Coriander Leaves chopped 

2  Dried Red Chillies 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Nigella seeds

Mustard Oil to fry the fish 

Method 

Apply some salt and turmeric powder to the fish head. Take a wok, add and heat up the mustard oil. Add the fish head and fry the fish head until golden brown in colour from both the sides. The fish head has to be crispy fried. Remove the fish head and keep it aside. Reduce the oil and keep only 1 tbsp of mustard oil in the wok. Add the nigella seeds and dry red chillies, once the nigella seeds crackles and the red dry chillies are roasted well, remove the dry red chillies and keep it aside.  In the same wok add the onions and the garlic. Meanwhile once the red chillies have cooled down, crushed them. Sauté the onions until golden brown in colour. Once done, remove the Onions and garlic in a bowl,  add the crushed red chillies, chopped green chilli, coriander leaves and salt in the bowl, mix all the ingredients well. Take a mortar and pestle, add the fried head and crush them well into a paste. I have used a grinder to grind the fish head. Add the ground fish into the bowl, now mix all the ingredients very well with hand. Serve this dish with rice. It’s best eaten during lunch. 

Kakara Kosha / Crab Sukha (Bengali Style)

While driving towards the outskirts of Mumbai during the rainy season, we get to see land filled with water getting ready for the rice cultivation, small water streams and small water bodies flowing around.. there are lots of small fish and mud crabs that you get to see being sold by the locals which are freshly caught. They are great in taste. We managed to get  some mud crabs and cat fish. 

Here is a recipe of  Kakara Kosha. It’s a Bengali way of making crab Sukha..  

While cleaning the crabs, separate out the crab legs from the body, gently crush them. Keep the crab fat and eggs in separate bowl.    

Enjoy this dish with rice or paratha. 

Ingredients 

5 medium size Crabs cleaned 

Keep the crab fat / tomalley and crab eggs separately 

2 medium size Onions sliced 

1 big Tomato chopped 

5 to 6 Green Chilli crushed 

10 to 12 Garlic Cloves crushed 

1 medium piece of Ginger crushed 

2 Bay leaves 

1 Green Cardamom 

2 Cloves 

1 small piece of Cinnamon 

1 tsp Turmeric powder 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Sugar 

1 tsp Cumin powder 

1 tsp Coriander powder 

1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder 

1/2 tsp Garam masala powder 

1 tsp Ghee

1/2 cup Mustard Oil 

1/2 cup Water 

Method

Add salt and little turmeric powder into the crabs and mix them. Take 1/4 cup of Mustard oil, let it heat, on a medium flame stir fry the crabs until it changes its colour. Remove and keep it aside, add the remaining oil in the same wok, add the cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaves, stir, add the sliced onions, sauté the onions until translucent, in between add salt and sugar, continue to cook. Add the crushed ginger - garlic and chillies, stir and continue to cook for a minute, add the  chopped tomato, stir, add turmeric powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. Stir and continue to cook, add Kashmiri red chilli powder. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until the oil release. Add the crab fat and crab eggs if any. Stir and cook for another minute. Add the water, let it simmer, add the crabs. Stir and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Add the ghee and garam masala. Let it cook for another minute. Once done switch off the flame. Enjoy the crab bhuna with rice or paratha. 

Spicy Jhat - Pat Jhinga Masala Rice

Here is a quick meal to end the day...with leftover rice and some Prawns.. it’s simple, yet delicious. 

Ingredients 

Handful of Prawns - devined and cleaned

2 cups of Cooked Rice

1 small Onion coarsely ground 

2 to 3 Green Chillies coarsely ground 

1 tsp Garlic and Ginger coarsely ground 

Few Coriander leaves chopped 

2 Bayleaves

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds 

1 tsp Cumin powder 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Garam Masala powder 

1 tbsp Desiccated Coconut 

1 tsp Sugar

Salt to taste 

4 tbsp Oil

1 tsp Ghee

Method 

Take a pot, add oil, let the oil heat up, until then marinate the prawns with little salt and turmeric. Once the oil heats up, add the prawns and stir fry the prawns until it changes its colour. Remove the prawns and keep it aside. In the same oil, add the cumin seeds and bay leaves. Let the cumin seeds crackle. Add all the ground paste into the pot and sauté the paste for a minute, add the salt, sugar, cumin powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and coconut. Continue to sauté until the oil releases from the masala. Add the prawns, stir and add around 1/2 cup of water. Let the masala simmer for few seconds, add the prawns and continue to simmer for another few seconds. Add the cooked rice and ghee,  on a full flame stir the rice well with the masala. Switch off the flame. Add the coriander leaves, stir and close the pot and keep it aside for 5 minutes before serving. 

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Ilish Macher Lejar Bhorta / Hilsa Fish Tail Bhorta

There were 5 tail pieces of Hilsa fish left in the freezer. Usually as the tail part of the fish is thorny many people avoid eating the tail part. In Bangladesh they make various types of Bhortas. I had this recipe in my bucket list as I had heard from my husband about the Ilish  Bhorta when he had travelled to Bangladesh and I had randomly seen some few recipes on YouTube. It’s delicious, you can actually finish one whole plate of steamed rice with Ilish Bhorta. 

So here it is... 

Ingredients 

5 Tail pieces of the Hilsa Fish

2 medium size Onion sliced 

2 Garlic Cloves

2 or more Whole Dried Red Chilli 

Few Coriander leaves chopped 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 cup + 1/4 tsp of Mustard Oil 

Method 

Take the fish tails, apply salt and turmeric powder. Heat 1/2 cup oil, fry the fish tail until golden brown in colour. Remove the fried fish and keep it aside to cool, in the same oil now fry the onion and garlic until golden brown in colour. Remove the onion and garlic and keep it aside. In the same remaining oil fry the dried red chillies until brown in colour. Remove the chillies and keep it aside. Now very carefully remove the thorns from the fish tail and keep the fish meat aside. Now take the fried onion, garlic, red chillies, salt to taste and coriander leaves on a plate, mash all the ingredients together well, add the fish meat and mash the ingredients together. Transfer the Bhorta into a serving plate, drizzle with the remaining mustard oil and a fresh red chilli, serve it with hot steamed rice. 

Daab Chingri

This dish is one of the delicacy of Bengal.... The Prawns are cooked in the coconut shell. It’s generally made on occasions. The ingredients used in this recipe are almost same as prawn paturi or prawn bhappa... only difference here is, the coconut water and the coconut meat are added in this recipe and the cooked prawn gravy is filled into the coconut shell and grilled in the oven. 

There are different ways of making it.. many people add onion paste and  ginger paste while cooking the gravy... but I haven’t added these ingredients... Many a times after grinding the mustard, the dish taste bitter, to avoid bitterness, please strain the mustard paste. If you don’t have oven, it can be made in the pressure cooker. 

Ingredients 

500 grams big size Prawns, cleaned and deveined 

4 Green Chillies slit

1 Garlic clove

3 tbsp Tender Coconut Meat (Malai)

3 tbsp Mustard seeds 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Turmeric powder 

1 cup Coconut Water

3 tbsp Mustard Oil 

Method 

Take a grinder and add coconut meat, 2 green chillies, garlic, mustard seeds, salt, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and 3/4 cup coconut water to make a fine paste. Take a strainer and strain the paste and add remaining coconut water into the paste. Take a wok, add mustard oil and let it heat up. Meanwhile add salt and remaining turmeric powder on prawns and mix the ingredients together. Add the prawns into the hot oil, let the prawns cook until it changes its colour, add the remaining 2 green chillies and continue to cook for few seconds, pour the paste and continue to cook for a minute. Switch off the flame, take the coconut shell, add the cooked prawn gravy into the coconut shell, cover the top part of the coconut shell with foil, grill the daab chingri at 180 degrees celsius for 15 to 20 minutes in a preheated oven. Once done let the coconut shell cool down a bit in the oven, remove the coconut shell from the oven, remove the foil and serve the daab chingri with steamed rice. 

Incase Otg is not available, the coconut shell can be steamed in the pressure until 2 whistles. 

Pomfret Macher Tel Jhal

This is a quick and easy Bengali recipe to go with steamed rice. This dish is one of our family’s favourite dish, my mother use to make it. It’s supposed to be bit spicy and tangy.

Ingredients 

1 big size Pomfret cut, sliced and cleaned 

1 medium size Tomato chopped 

2 to 3 Green Chillies slit

Few Coriander leaves chopped 

1/2 tsp Nigella seeds 

Salt to taste 

3/4 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 cup Mustard Oil to fry the fish

Few drops of Mustard Oil to drizzle  

Method 

Take the sliced pomfret pieces, apply 1/2 tsp turmeric and salt, heat the oil and fry the fish slices until brown in colour. Remove the fried fish pieces, keep it aside. Remove the excess oil and keep around 2 tbsp oil in the wok. Add the nigella seeds and green chillies. Sauté the nigella seeds for few seconds. Add the chopped tomato, salt and remaining turmeric powder. Stir and cook until the chopped tomato is mushy. Add a cup of water and let the gravy simmer. Add the fish pieces and continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes more. Switch off the flame, sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves and drizzle little mustard oil over the gravy. Serve this dish with steamed rice. 

 

Ilish Macher Bhappa

After a long time we managed to get Ilish from an online cold storage. We were very thrilled, after all it’s called the Macher Raja... King of Fish in Bengal, as it’s the tastiest fish. The fish was delivered whole, we had to clean and cut the fish... and I love cutting the fish. So quickly got into action, geared up with the cutting tools, cut the fish and made Bhappa Ilish - one of the classic traditional dish made with Ilish. 

 

Ingredients 

6 pieces of Ilisha Fish

1 Garlic Cloves

4 to 6 Green Chillies as per the spiciness you require 

Salt to taste

1 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Chilli Powder - Optional 

1 tbsp Fresh or Desiccated Coconut  -  optional 

2 - 3 tbsp Mustard seeds 

1 tsp Poppy seeds - optional

2 tbsp Curd 

1 1/2 tbsp + 1//2 tsp Mustard Oil 

Method 

To make a paste, add mustard seeds, poppy seeds, coconut, 2 green chillies, garlic, salt and curd in a grinder and grind all the ingredients with little water into a paste. Strain the paste. Take fish pieces and apply salt chilli powder and turmeric powder on the fish, pour the paste and mustard oil on over the fish and coat the fish well with the paste. Add slit green chillies. Close the container and steam the fish for 10 - 15 minutes or add water in the pressure cooker, place the cooker stand and place the closed container inside the cooker and pressure cook with 2 whistles. Once done, drizzle the remaining mustard oil and serve it with hot steamed rice. 

Grilled Pomfret served with Sautéed Vegetables - Mashed Potato and Butter Lemon Sauce

 

We enjoy having continental dinner once in a while. Let’s see how it’s made.. 

Butter Lemon Sauce

Ingredients 

2 tbsp Flour

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp Pepper powder 

1/2 tsp dried Parsley 

Juice of 1/2 Lemon 

1 cup Milk

1 tbsp Butter 

Method 

Take a pan, add butter, let it melt, add flour, sauté it for few seconds, add milk little at a time and keep on stirring so that no lump forms. As the sauce thickens, add salt, pepper and parsley. Switch off the flame. Let the sauce cool down. Add the lemon juice and stir. 

Mashed Potatoes 

Ingredients 

2 big size boiled potatoes mashed 

2 tbsp Fresh Cream

1 tsp Butter 

Salt to taste 

1/4 tsp Pepper powder 

Method 

Add all the above ingredients into a bowl and mix all the ingredients very well. 

Sautéed Vegetables 

Ingredients 

4 to 5 medium size Cauliflower florets 

Few French Beans

1 medium size Carrots cut into thick strips

1 small size  Sweet Potato cut into thick strips 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Pepper powder 

1 tbsp Butter 

Method 

Take a pot, add water and salt into the pot, add the vegetables, let the vegetables boil until it’s cooked, drain the water out, take a pan, add butter, let the butter melt. Sauté the vegetables for a minute, add pepper powder and switch off the flame. 

For the Grilled Pomfret 

Ingredients 

3 Whole cleaned Pomfrets 

Juice of 1/2 Lemon 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Pepper powder 

1/2 tsp Garlic paste 

1 tbsp Butter or Olive Oil 

Method 

Marinate the fish with salt, pepper, garlic paste and lemon juice and keep it for 30 minutes. Take a grill pan, apply butter or oil on the grill pan, place the pomfrets. Cook the pomfrets until brown on both the sides. 

To Assemble - 

Take a plate. Place the grilled pomfret on the plate. Place some sautéed vegetables and some mashed potatoes. Pour the lemon butter sauce over the fish. Garnish with a piece of tomato and parsley.. 

Misti Aloor Pata R Chingri Macher Mathar Chorchori

This is a very traditional Bengali recipe that’s cooked only at home and not commonly found in restaurants... we had grown sweet potato in our balcony pot... after 4 months we got some sweet potatoes and sweet potato leaves... I was extremely happy... 

Prawn head Chorchori is made normally with Malabar spinach, potatoes, sweet potato. brinjal and pumpkin with fish head or prawns or small fish but since I got sweet potato leaves, I made the dish with this leaves and sweet potato... some brinjal too can be added to this dish. Fish can be avoided and can be made only vegetarian. Only turmeric, salt and Mustard oil is used to cook this dish along with some garlic, onion and green chillies. 

A plate of steamed rice and this dish is enough to satisfy our souls... this dish will taste more delicious if eaten on the next day... 

Ingredients 

1 big bowl of Sweet Potato leaves washed and cut into pieces 

1 big Sweet Potato washed and peeled 

1 big size Onion sliced 

5 to 6 Garlic cloves crushed 

4 to 6 Green Chillies slit 

1 bowl of Prawn head / after cleaning one kg of prawns or any small fish cleaned and marinated with 1/2 tsp turmeric and Salt. 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

4 tbsp  + 1 tsp Fortune Mustard Oil

Method 

Cut the sweet potato into medium thin strips.. in Bengali we say Shoru kore kata... it was fun to use the boti after a long time. 

Take a wok, preferably a iron wok... I used steel wok as I was cooking on induction-stove. Add 3 tbsp Mustard oil. Let the mustard oil heat up. Fry the marinated prawn heads until crispy. Remove and keep it aside. Add 1 tbsp of Mustard oil into the same wok. Add sliced onion, garlic and green chillies together. Stir fry the onion until soft and translucent. Add the sweet potato. Stir and cook for a minute. Add the salt and turmeric. Stir and add 1/2 cup of water. Stir and let it simmer for a minute. Add the sweet potato leaves. Cover and continue to cook until the water has reduced and the vegetables are  almost cooked. Open the lid and gently stir the vegetables. Add the prawn heads and stir it gently. Cover and cook for another 1 minutes. Open the lid and the stir it gently. Switch off the induction. Before serving drizzle mustard oil. Serve the dish with steamed rice. 

Pangasius (Indian Basa) Maccher Aloo Pholkopir Jhol

Pangasius (Indian Basa) Maccher Aloo Pholkopir Jhol - Aaaahaaaaa ... it’s heaven having it with one plate of steamed Rice... it’s been some time that, I was craving for fish very badly ... yesterday my husband managed to order online from Fresh to Home and finally today morning it was delivered. Couldn’t wait... immediately cooked this fish the traditional Bengali way... The regional dishes are simple but always divine.
This curry can be made with any other fish like Rahu, Katla, Bhetki etc.. it can be made only with potatoes. Cauliflower can be replaced with pointed gourd...

Ingredients
500 grams Pangasius cut pieces, washed and apply turmeric and salt...
2 Medium size Potatoes peeled and cut into medium size chunks
1 Medium size Cauliflower cut into medium size florets
1 Medium size Onion cut into big pieces
1 Medium Tomato cut into big pieces
4 Garli Cloves
2 Inch Ginger cut into pieces
4 Green Chillies slit
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Garam Masala powder
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
2 Bay leaves
1/2 tsp Ghee (optional)
1/2 cup Mustard Oil for frying the fish and making the curry

Method
Dip the cauliflower and potato in hot salt water for 5 minutes and drain out the water. Make a paste with the tomato, onion, garlic, ginger and 2 green chillies. Take a wok, add oil, let the oil heat up, reduce the heat to medium flame. Add the marinated fish and fry until light golden brown in colour. Remove the fish from the oil. In the same oil add the potatoes and cauliflower, add little salt and turmeric powder. Stir fry the potatoes and the cauliflower until it changes it’s colour. Add the cumin seeds, bay leaves and the 2 remaining green chillies,  stir and cook for a minute. Add the paste, sugar and little more salt to taste. Continue to cook for 2 minutes more. Add the cumin powder, coriander powder and the garam masala. Here if you want you can also add red chilli powder, but I haven’t used it. Stir and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more. Now add around 2 1/2 cups of water.. let the curry simmer until the vegetables are cooked. Add the fried fish.... let it simmer for another 5 minutes more. Switch off the flame, drizzle ghee on top and serve it hot with steamed rice.

Maacher Tel - Potkar Chorchori

When we buy a whole big fish or a part of a big fish, generally people discard the inner parts of the fish, like liver, intestine and fats, but we Bengalis use these for cooking. We use these inner organs of the fish to make a mishmash dish by adding potatoes, brinjal and onions to it or we make Maacher Teler bora. This dish is not a known dish nor available in any Bengali restaurants.
Only a person who has eaten this dish can tell how delicious it is. This goes well with steaming hot rice.
Here I have used the fats, intestine and liver from a big Katla Fish. After cooking, eat the dish the next day, it taste even better.

Ingredients
150 grams of the Fish Fats, Liver and Intestine washed,  cleaned and cut into pieces
2 medium size Potatoes cut into small cubes
2 medium size Onions sliced
1 Brinjal around 200 grams cut into cubes
2 to 3 Green Chillies slit
1 tsp Garlic paste
1 tsp Ginger paste
Salt to taste
1 tsp + 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Cumin powder
1/2 tsp Red Chilli powder
4 tbsp Mustard Oil

Method
Add 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and salt into the fish fat, liver and intestine. Mix all the ingredients well. Take a wok, add the mustard oil, once the oil is hot, add the fish fat, liver and intestine into the oil. Fry it until brown in colour. Be very careful while frying these fish organs as the oil tends to splatter and you can get burn. Remove the fish fat, liver and intestine and keep it aside. In the same oil add the onions and the green chillies. Stir and fry the onions for a minute. Add in the potatoes and brinjal. Stir and continue to cook on a low flame for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger paste. Stir and continue to cook for another minute. Add the salt, turmeric, cumin powder and chilli powder. Stir and cover the wok. On a low flame let it cook, stirring the ingredients occasionally. Once the potatoes are cook, add the fried fish fat, liver and intestine. Stir and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Switch off the flame. It taste best when eaten the next day. Serve it with hot steaming rice.

Stir Fried Salmon cooked in Orange and Garlic Sauce

This an amazing dish made with Italian flavours for lunch. The dish is sweet and tangy in taste. This can be served with bread or rice. 

For the Stir Fry

Ingredients

10 pieces of Salmon Fillets

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp Pepper Powder 

3 cubes Butter

Method 

Apply salt and pepper on the fish fillets. Take a pan, add butter, let it melt. Stir fry the fish until  brown on both the sides. Remove the fish and keep it aside. 

For the Sauce

Ingredients 

Stir Fried Salmon Fish 

400 ml of Fresh Orange Juice 

2 tsp Garlic chopped 

1 tsp Pepper Powder 

1 tsp Sugar

Salt to taste 

2 tbsp All Purpose Flour 

1/2 tsp Dried Rosemary 

Sweet Basil for garnishing 

Butter left in the pan 

Method 

Take the same pan, use the leftover butter. Heat the pan, add the chopped garlic and sauté for a minute. Add the all purpose flour, sauté it for another minute. Add the fresh orange juice. Stir and let it simmer. Add the sugar, salt to taste, Pepper powder and dried Rosemary. Stir and let it continue to simmer until the gravy begins to thicken.  Add the fish. Switch of the flame and add the sauce over the fish. Garnish with Basil leaves. Serve it with Bread or Rice. 

Bhetki Maacher Pulao / Bhetki Fish Pulao

Made this home style Bhetki Pulao which is very quick and easy to cook. This can be made with any boneless fish left in your freezer. 

Ingredients 

500 grams of Bhetki fish boneless cut into small chunks 

1 1/2 cup Basmati Rice washed and  soaked 

1 Big size Onion sliced 

1 tbsp Ginger and Garlic Paste

2 Green Chillies cut lengthwise 

Few Coriander leaves chopped 

2 Bay leaves 

2 Cloves 

2 Green Cardamoms 

1 small stick Cinnamon 

5 to 6 Pepper Corns

1/2 cup Whisked Curd 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Chilli powder 

1/2 tsp Garam Masala powder

1 tsp Cumin powder 

1 tsp Sugar

Salt to taste

3 tbsp Ghee 

Method 

Take a pot. Add ghee, let it heat up. Add the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, pepper corns and bay leaves. Let it crackle. Add the sliced onion and sauté till the onions are translucent. Add the ginger - garlic paste. Continue to sauté for a minute more. Add the curd, salt, sugar, turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin power and garam masala powder. Stir and cook for 2 minutes, add the fish pieces and the green chillies, continue to cook for 2 minutes more. Remove the fish pieces from the masala and keep it aside. Add 4 cups of water. Let it simmer. Add the rice. Let it continue to cook until the rice is almost done. Place the fish on the rice, gently stir the rice, cover and cook for another 2 minutes. Switch off the flame. Open the lid and gently stir it again. Garnish with coriander leaves.  Let the pulao stand for 15 minutes before serving, so that the excess vapour will evaporate. It goes well with salad and  curd.

Bele Maacher Jhal

"Mache Bhate Bangali", which means - fish and rice is what makes a Bengali, so true as the staple diet of a Bengali is fish and rice. Many varieties of fishes are found in Bengal. One such fish is Bele Fish or Sand Goby, it is one of the popular & extremely tasty freshwater fish. It is native to freshwater streams and rivers. This fish is rarely sold in Mumbai. I had heard the name of this fish, but never tasted it, I got this fish from Chembur Market. It’s indeed a very tasty fish.

Ingredients
6 pieces of Bele Maach / Sand Goby
1 big size Onion sliced
1 big size Tomato sliced
4 Green Chilli cut into half lengthwise
Few Coriander leaves chopped for garnishing
1 tbsp Ginger - Garlic coarsely ground
4 tbsp Mustard and Poppy seed paste
1/2 tsp Panch Phoran
Salt to taste
1 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Chilli powder
1/2 cup Mustard Oil

Method
Marinate the fish with salt and 1/2 tsp Turmeric for 10 minutes. Pour oil into a wok. Let it heat. Fry the fish until light brown in colour. Remove the fish from the oil, keep it aside. Remove the extra oil from the wok, leave only 3 tbsp of oil in the wok. Add the panch phoran. Let it crackle. Add the onions and sauté it for a minute. Add the ginger - garlic. Continue to sauté for a minute. Add the tomato. Stir and continue to cook for a minute. Add the mustard - poppy seeds paste. Stir and cook for another minute. Add the salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder. Stir for few seconds. Add 1 cup of water. Stir and cover. Let it simmer for 2 minutes. Open the lid, add the fried fish and green chillies. Cover and cook for another minute. Switch off the flame. Open the lid and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve it hot with hot steaming rice.

Topse Maach Bhaja / Topse Maacher Fry

Topse Maach or Mango Fish is very popular in Bengal. It has several long, slender filaments below the pectoral fins. This fish of the Ganges is highly in demand. This fish comes during March to May during the mango season, hence it’s called the Mango Fish.

It’s know for fish fry / fish fritters , which is marinated, dipped in Gram flour batter and deep fried. It’s served for lunch, it’s an accompaniment with dal and it is served during occasions.

To Marinate the Mango Fish

Ingredients

500 grams Topse / Mango Fish cleaned

4 to 5 tbsp Ginger - Garlic - Green Chilli - Onion paste (1 small piece of Ginger, 6 Garlic Cloves, 3 Green Chillies and 1 small Onion)

1 tsp Red Chilli Powder

1/2 Turmeric powder

Salt to Taste

Juice of 1 small Lime

Method

Take the fish in a bowl and add all the ingredients and apply it well on the fish. Keep it aside and marinate it for an hour or 
more.

For the Topse Bhaja

Ingredients

Marinated Fish

1 cup Gram flour

2 tbsp Rice flour

1 tsp Poppy seeds

1/2 tsp Nigella seeds

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Method

Take a bowl, add gram flour, rice powder, poppy seeds, nigella seeds and salt. Mix the ingredients well. Now add the marinated juices of the fish and little water at a time to make a thick batter. Mix it well. Keep it aside for 5 minutes. Meanwhile take a wok or a pan, add oil and let it heat. Once the oil heats up, dip the fish in the batter one at a time and gently put it in the oil. Fry 3 to 4 fish at a time on a medium low flame. Fry it till crispy brown in colour. Remove the fish on a paper towel. Serve it hot with dal and rice.

Asian Style Steamed Pomfrets in Banana Leaves

This steamed pomfrets are healthy as no oil is added to the dish. I have used Asian herbs and spices for the paste. It gives a strong flavour and aroma to the dish. Serve this dish with hot steamed rice. 

For the Paste

Ingredients 

• 1 small Onion cut into pieces 
• 1 small piece of Ginger 
• 6 Garlic Cloves 
• 2 Red Dried Chillies 
• 2 Fresh Red Chillies or 1 tbsp Pickled Chillies 
• 1/4 cup Coriander Leaves chopped 
• 2 Lime Leaves 
• 1 Lemongrass stalk
• 1 tsp Shrimp paste
• Salt to taste 

Method 

Grind all the above ingredients into a paste.

For the Steamed Pomfrets 

Ingredients 

• 2 Whole Pomfrets cleaned, slit and marinated with salt 
• Ground paste
• 2 Banana Leaves cut into medium size pieces and washed
• String 

Method 

Apply the paste on the Pomfrets. Let it marinate for 30 minutes. Take 2 to 3 pieces of the banana leaves and arrange them. Place the pomfret along with the marination on the banana leaves and wrap the banana leaves from all the sides. Tie it with a string. Take a steamer. Place the packed pomfrets into the steamer and steam the pomfrets for 20 minutes. Before eating cut open the strings, open up the banana leaves and serve it hot with steamed rice. 

Punti Maccher Chorchori

I had a Bengali lady who worked for me for many years. Some time she would share her village stories with me. They did not have bathrooms at their place in the village so they all had to bathe in the river. On the way to the river they had to cross small streams. They use to carry gamcha (that is a cloth to wipe the body after bath). As they lack money... while on the way back home the village ladies usually use their gamcha to catch small varieties of fishes from the streams. One of the fish is called Punti Maach. They are called the swamp barb or chola barb or Puntius chola, in English. They are tropical freshwater fish. They are mainly found in streams, rivers, swamps and  shallow water. Since my maid lacked money, normally they would cook this small fish with potatoes and onions, either season with panch phoran and make jhal (spicy gravy) or season with nigella seeds to make Chorchori adding some vegetables of the season which grew in the nearby fields. Another dish which is made is Punti Maacher tak. The dishes were  served with hot steaming boiled rice.

I found this fish being sold by a local fisher woman after a very long time which was caught from the nearby river. It was a task cleaning this fish, but the end result was delicious.

Ingredients

* 500gm Punti fish cleaned and marinated with 1 tsp Turmeric powder and Salt

* 1 big size Onion chopped

* 3 big size Potatoes cut into wedges

* 1 big size Tomato cut into wedges

* 250 grams medium size Brinjal cut into wedges

* 4 Green Chillies slit

* Few Coriander leaves chopped for garnishing (optional)

* 1 tsp Ginger paste

* 1 tbsp Mustard paste

* 1 tsp Cumin powder

* 1 tsp Turmeric powder

* 1 tsp Chilli powder

* Salt to taste

* 1 tsp Nigella seeds

* 1/2 cup + 1/2 tsp Mustard Oil

Method

Take a wok, add 1/2 cup oil. Fry the punti maach in batches till golden brown in colour. Remove and keep it aside. In the the same oil add the nigella seeds and let it crackle. Add the  green chillies, onion, potatoes, brinjal and tomatoes. Stir fry the vegetables for 2 minutes. Add the salt, turmeric, cumin powder, chilli powder, ginger and mustard paste. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add 3/4 cup of water, stir and cover the wok. Let it cook on medium heat until the vegetables are tender and the gravy has almost dried up. Open the lid and check the vegetables. Add the puti mach and continue to cook for a minute. Drizzle with 1/2 tsp of Mustard Oil. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Adda ar Jeere Bata Diye Ruhi Maccher Jhol

As this summer is unbearable and going to the kitchen and cooking becomes difficult, here is a traditional simple Bengali recipe made with Rohu Fish and vegetables. The light - thin gravy is flavoured with ginger and cumin paste. You can add other vegetables like cauliflower, carrot, raw papaya, green peas,  broad beans and pointed gourd too. You can also add bori to your jhol. Serve the jhol with hot steaming rice and a piece of lime.

Ingredients 

6 pieces of Ruhi Maach marinated with salt and 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1 bowl of mix Vegetables - 1 Potato, 1 small size Brinjal, 1 Raw Banana, 1 Tomato cut into wedges and 1 Drumstick cut into pieces 

1 Green Chilli slit

1 tsp Panch Phoran

2 to 3 Bay leaves 

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

For the paste - 1 small piece of Ginger, 1 tsp Cumin seeds and 1 Green Chilli ground into a paste with 3 to 4 tsp water

1/2 cup Mustard Oil

Method 

Take oil in a wok, let the oil heat up. Fry the marinated fish until golden brown from both the sides. Remove the fish and keep it aside. In the same oil add panch phoran, bay leaves and green chilli. Let it sauté for a minute. Add the vegetables, stir and cook for a minute. Add the ginger - green chilli and cumin seeds paste. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add the salt and turmeric powder. Continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Add 3 cups of water, cover the wok and cook till the vegetables are tender. Open the lid, add the fish and cook for another 2 minutes. Switch of the flame. Serve it with hot steamed rice. 

Sambal stuffed Mackerel Fry

This is one of the Peranakan / Nyonya recipe that comes from the Peranakans, who are the descendants of early Chinese migrants settled in Penang, Malacca, Singapore and Indonesia. 

This is a very easy recipe and can be eaten with hot steaming rice.

Here I have use the ingredients available in my kitchen as normally fresh Turmeric and shallots are used in the recipe but since I didn’t have them, I used powder turmeric and onion. 

P.S. - Belacan is a hardened block of shrimp paste, made from tiny shrimp mixed with salt and fermented used in Malay cooking.

Sambal Paste

Ingredients

1 medium size Onion chopped

4 Garlic Cloves

3 Fresh Red Chillies or 2 tsp Fresh Red Chilli paste

2 Lemongrass stalk

4 Dry Red Chillies

1 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Sugar - (I didn't use)

Salt to taste

1 tbsp Belacan - Shrimp paste or 1 tbsp Fish Sauce

1 tsp Tamarind pulp

3 to 4 tbsp of Water

1 tbsp Oil

Method 

Add the above ingredients except oil in a grinder and grind the ingredients into a fine paste. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the sambal paste and stir and cook the paste for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and keep the paste aside to cool.

    

For Fish Fry

Ingredients

4 Mackerel - Slit on both the sides of the back bone

Sambal paste

1/4 cup Oil for shallow frying the fish 

Method

Take the fish. Stuff the fish with one tablespoon of sambal paste on each side of the cut. Take a pan, add oil and heat the oil. Shallow fry the fish on medium low heat till cooked on both the sides. Remove fish from pan. Serve the fish with hot steaming rice.

Makli Sukha Masala

Last week I was holidaying at Alibaug - home stay, where you can buy the ingredients of your choice and get the dishes cooked. The men folk were going to the market, I was very excited to join them. We visited the fish market where there were varieties of sea fishes. We got squids and pomfrets from the market. We fried the pomfrets and here is the recipe for Squid Sukha Masala.. 

This is simple squid dish from the costal belt of Maharashtra. It’s a dry gravy dish. Here I have not ground any coconut and masalas, but made it in the simplest way. It can be eaten with rice or chapatis. 

Ingredients 

500 grams of cleaned and cut squids

3 medium size Onions cut into half and sliced 

1 Tomato cut into cubes 

2 tbsp Ginger and Garlic paste 

2 Green Chillies cut into half lengthwise 

Few curry leaves 

Few Coriander leaves chopped 

2 tbsp grated fresh Coconut 

1 tsp Mustard seeds 

1 tsp Turmeric powder 

2 tsp Konkani garam masala or any fish masala 

4 tbsp Tamarind juice 

4 tbsp Oil 

Method 

Take oil in a wok, let it heat. Add the mustard seeds, let it crackle. Add the green chillies and curry leaves. Then add ginger garlic paste. Stir and cook for few seconds. Add the onions and fry  till the colour of the onion changes. Once the colour of the onions changes to pink, then add the tomato, turmeric powder, Konkani garam masala powder and salt. Stir and cook till the onions becomes soft and tender. Add the squids, stir and cook for 2 minutes. Cover the wok with a lid and let it cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lid, on medium high flame let it cook till the water from the squid has dried up. Now add the tamarind juice. Let it cook for a minute. Add the grated coconut, stir it and let it cook for another minute. Switch off the flame.  Remove the squids into a serving bowl. Garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve it hot with hot steaming rice or chapatis.