Chital maacher muithya is made because though Chital fish’s belly is tasty and oily and can be used in curries, the back is too bony to be eaten otherwise. So folks scrape out this back flesh and make fish balls out of them, which is called the Muithya. With time this has gained popularity as an exotic dish in family special occasions.
From the treasure trove of the local Bangladeshi store’s refrigerator I found a pack of frozen minced chital maach. This makes making muithya half as easy.
Ingredients For muithya
- 1 lb. flesh of chital fish
- 1 medium sized boiled potato
- 1 tbsp. grated ginger
- 1 tbsp. grated garlic
- 1 tsp. chopped green chilies
- 1 tsp. Bengali garam masala
- Salt to taste
- Oil for deep frying
Procedure to make muithya
In a mixing bowl mix all the ingredients above other than oil and make lemon sized balls out of it. Take enough water in a deep kadai or sauce pan and bring it to a rolling boil. Once it start boiling reduce the heat and gently slide the fish balls into it. Soon you will see the balls are loosing its raw color. You can now crank up the heat and allow the fish-balls to cook for 2 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on a paper towel.
In a wok heat oil for deep frying and fry the fish balls in batches till they turn golden brown. Remove from oil and your muithya is ready to go in the gravy.
Ingredients for Gravy
- 2 medium sized potatoes cut into quarters
- 1 large onion cut into thin slices
- 1 tsp. ginger paste
- 1 tsp. garlic paste
- 2 heaped tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
- 2-3 Bay leaves
- Salt to taste
- Oil
- 1 tsp. Bengali garam masala
Making The Gravy
Heat oil in a pan and temper with bay leaves. Add onion slices to it and fry on low heat till the sides of the onion take a caramelized brown color. Remove bay leaves from it and make a paste of the fried onions.
If you have oil left in your pan you can use the same or else add little more. To get a gorgeous red color add sugar to the oil. Throw the potato cubes to it and fry till they take a golden hue. Now add ginger, garlic and fried onion paste along with turmeric and chili powder. Fry on low temperature till the raw smell reduces. Add tomato paste to it and fry everything together till the oil gets separated from the masala.
Season with salt and give a nice mix. Add about a cup of water to it and reduce the heat. Cook it covered till the potato cubes are done. Remove the cover and taste the salt and sugar balance.
Now gently add the fish balls and mix them with the gravy. This gravy will have a thick consistency, so adjust accordingly.
Cook everything together on low heat for five minutes. Sprinkle Bengali garam masala powder and keep it covered till you serve.
Enjoy with a full plate of white rice.
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