Ilisher (Hilsa) Patla Jhol

Ilish or Hilsa is the favorite Bengali fish and makes it into the favorite top 3 food list of a lot of Bongs. My husband keeps telling me the story of his classmate who always ate a whole Ilish on his birthday. Apparently it used to take him 3 hours to battle all the fish bones, but at the end he’d always emerge victorious.

Ilish is the national fish for Bangladesh and provides for the livelihood for thousand in the lower Ganges delta. These fishes are anadromous and lives mostly in sea water but swims up the great rivers in the Bangladesh delta to spawn. Those from the Bangladesh river of Padma are considered to be the tastiest and the hardest to come by in India. In our childhood we’d mostly contend with the “lesser” Rupnarayan river’s Hilsa (also called Kolaghater ilish). The weird part is that being in US we get easier access to Bangaldesher-r ilish at our local desi store (International Food Bazaar in Bellevue, WA). 

Ilish is cooked in many different styles. However, for the best Ilish the simplest cooking method provides the best taste. The trick is ensuring that no strong flavor or masala is put in, so that the natural flavor of Ilish comes out.

Ensure that when you buy Ilish try to hit the sweet spot of around 2lbs (1 kg). Also wash the fish as less as possible.

Please checkout the video of this recipe on my youtube channel either by visiting the link or using the play button below.

Ingredient

1. 5-6 slices of Ilish
2. 1/2 teaspoon Kalonji/Nigella seeds
3. Turmeric
4. Mustard oil
5. 5-6 Hot Indian Green Chilies
6. 1 medium eggplant cut into chunks
7. 1 tsp sugar
8. Salt to taste

Procedure

1. Lightly wash and pat dry the fish slices and smear them with turmeric and salt.
2. Heat mustard oil in Kadai/deep-pan . Once it starts smoking gently slide in the fish pieces. Be careful of the oil splatter!!
3. Fry them till light golden yellow. You need to be very careful not to brown them. Remove the fish slices from the oil and keep them aside.
4. We need to reuse the oil used for frying the fish since it already picked up the precious flavor of hilsa.
5. Dissolve 1/2 tbsp of turmeric in a cup of water and keep it aside.
6. Temper the oil in the pan with Kalonji and green chilies. When the spices starts popping up add chunks of eggplant to it. Sauté on medium high heat till the eggplants take a golden brown hue. Now pour the turmeric water to it. Season with salt and sugar.
7. Once the water starts boiling, gently slide the fish pieces into it.
8. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

This light ,soupy, golden yellow gravy tastes best with hot steaming rice.

Ilish or Hilsa Bhape

Ilish is one of the most loved Bong food. As I mentioned in my previous post (http://www.bongcook.com/2011/11/ilisher-hilsa-patla-jhol.html) there is a lot of stories and nostalgia behind it.

The hardest part of eating ilish is their bones. You have to fight with them to get the delicious flavor of the queen of all fishes. My lil one calls it “english fish” for whatever reason. The bong gene is evident in the way she eats it even though she had no “formal” training in taming the bones.

One of the most famous Ilish cooking style is the bhape. Ilish bhape can only be enjoyed with steaming hot white rice and doesn't really need any other accompaniments.

Today I am sharing with you my mom's recipe of ilish bhape which has been perfected over generations in Kitchens around the Ganges delta region in Bangladesh.

Please also checkout the video recipe on my youtube channel by clicking this link or on the play button below.

Ingredients

1. Ilish Slices -  5/6 pieces
2. Mustard seeds - 3tb spoon
3. Freshly grated coconut - 4 tbsp
4. green chilies - 8/10
5. Mustard oil - 4 tbsp
6. Turmeric powder - 2 tea spoon
7. Salt

Procedure (using pressure cooker)

1. Make a fine paste of mustard seeds, grated coconut 3-4 green chilies and salt. Add very little water.
2. Take a pressure cooker safe bowl (like a steel tiffin box) and smear it’s inside with little mustard oil
3. Arrange the fish pieces in a single layer and pour mustard paste over it so that it covers all the fish pieces
4. Add the rest of the green chilies and mustard oil over it. Close the box.
5. Place the box inside a pressure cooker. Pour water around the box.
6. Close the pressure cooker and then cook it for 2-3 whistles.

Procedure of making in a Microwave Oven Or Traditional Oven

1. Take a microwave/oven safe bowl and arrange the fish pieces in a single layer. Pour the mustard paste over it, so that it covers the fish pieces. Add the green chilies and mustard oil over it.
2. Cover the bowl with a microwave safe cover or cling film and cook it for 6-8 mins.
3. In case you are using a traditional electric oven, cover the bowl with aluminum foil and bake it for 25-30 mins at 375F

Gondhoraj Bhapa Bhetki

This is part three in my pujo spread post. Prompted by my social feed filling up with posts from friends eating a Bengali pujo buffet, I decided to make a Bengali spread of our own.

In this post I bring to you Gondhoraj Bhapa Bhetki. You can substitute the bhetki with local white fleshed fish. I have used rock fish.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb fish fillet (Bhetki, rock-fish or cat-fish)
• 1/2 cup hung plain yogurt
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 tsp. chopped ginger
• 4 green chilies
• Juice of one lime
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• Oil
• Banana leaf washed and cut into big square pieces
• Kefir lime leaves for garnishing

Procedure

Cut the fish fillets in medium sized rectangular pieces. Marinate with lime juice and salt for about half an hour.

In a pan heat 2 tbsp. oil and fry onion, and ginger till the onion turns pink. Now make a paste of onion and ginger with green chilies.  To this paste add hung curd, salt and sugar. Check the seasoning and keep aside.

After half an hour remove the fish fillets from the marinade and coat them well with the yogurt and spice paste mixture you have just made.

Now season the banana leaves for wrapping. Turn on the heat and swipe the leaved one by one over the flame to make them more pliable so that it won't tear when you fold them.

Take one square of the leaves and place a fillet of fish along with the marinade at the center of it.

Sprinkle some lemon zest and chili flakes over it. Place a lime leaf on the top of it for garnishing. Drizzle little oil over it. Fold the sides of the banana leaf  over the fish to make a parcel. Secure with a toothpick.

Now boil water in a wide pan and keep a steamer pan over it. You can use a big metal strainer as well.

Arrange the banana leaf parcels over the steamer or strainer in a single layer. Once the water starts boiling cover the steamer with a lid and wait for five minutes. Remove the lid and turn over the parcels. Let it cook for another five minutes.

Serve with plain rice. 

Fish Fry

I have been blogging for some time now. While my blogs have touched various nooks and crannies of Bengali and Indian cuisine but somehow a mainstay of Bengali food, the famed Kolkata Fish fry has been missing. I did blog the recipe awhile back and it was one of my more popular posts but somehow the post got deleted.
So here it is back on bongcook, and to make up for the deletion I actually have a video to go along with. I love short and sweet videos and in that theme this is only around 2 minutes.
The reason I call it restaurant style is because while a lot of people make it at home it doesn’t quiet get the restaurant look. In the video I tried to cover how to really make it look good as well.
Hope you enjoy the video and as always I have the recipe below as well.

Ingredients For Marination

• 250gms bhetki fillet cut approximately 2 inch by 2 inch
  
• 1 lemon
  
• 2 tbsp. onion paste
  
• 2 tsp. ginger paste
  
• 2 tsp. garlic paste
  
• 2 tsp. green chili paste
  
• 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper corn
  
• Salt to taste
  

Procedure For Marination

Mix all the ingredients above including the juice of one lemon and apply to the fish fillet so that all the sides are well covered with this spice mixture. Marinate for 3 - 4 hrs.

Ingredients For Coating & Frying

• 2 eggs
  
• Plenty of bread crumbs
  
• Enough refined oil for deep frying
  

Procedure For Coating & Frying
In a bowl beat 2 eggs with salt.
In a wide tray or plate take bread crumbs and spread it to form a layer.
With a spoon or fork take each fillet out, and dip it in the egg wash and place flat on the bread crumb layer. With your dry hands sprinkle a fistful of bread crumb on the open top layer of the fillet so that that this surface too is covered with bread crumbs.
Press gently with the palms of your hand to flatten them.
Use the blunt side of a knife and press it along the all 4 edges of the breaded fillet to give them a professional look. :)
Heat enough oil for deep frying till it smokes. Reduce the temperature and let it cool down a bit before you slid in the breaded fillet. Fry on medium high heat till both sides turn golden brown and crispy.
Remove on a paper towel and serve with salad.

Rajsahi Fish Tikka

My husband had invited few of his friends for a barbecue at our home. Seattle weather being as it is, turned a bit iffy with possibilities of rain. So I decided to make something indoors incase cooking outside failed. Given the party theme I plated it in a more western style on slices of whole grain bread with fresh cut salad.

Rajsahi is a major city in Bangladesh and I actually doubt if people from there really know about this recipe. Either way it is pretty rajokio or royal in taste.

I make most of these kind of bengali dry fish recipes with locally available rock-fish. If you have the good fortune of access to bhetki, please go with that instead.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. fish fillet cut into medium cubes (Best if you can get bhetki, cod and rock fish work well)
• 1 lemon juice
• 1 tsp. ginger paste
• 1 tsp. green chili paste
• 1 tbsp. garlic paste
• 2 tbsp. thick plain yogurt
• 1 tsp. Bengali Garam Masala powder
• 1/2 tsp. mustard powder
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper powder
• 2 tbsp. ghee
• Salt to taste
• Few slices of bread for serving

Procedure

Wash fish and pat it dry with a paper towel. Mix everything with fish keeping aside one tbsp. ghee and half of the lime juice.

Now marinate the fish for about an hour.

Pre heat oven at 350F. Grease a baking tray with oil and lay the fish pieces in single layer.

Bake for about five minutes. Take the tray out and strain the liquid released from the fish.

Turn over the fish cubes, brush it with the rest of lemon juice and ghee and bake it again for about ten minutes..

Remove and brush it again with the lemon juice and ghee mixture. Sprinkle a pinch of mustard and black pepper powder over it.

Cut the bread slices into square and place each tikka on top of it to serve.

Dhakai Fish

I have had the good fortune to be always blessed with great neighbors. Our Seattle home is no exception. We meet a few times over the summer vacation to indulge in barbecue and pot-lucks.This summer when one of my neighbors organized a get-together at their place, I asked them what I should get. I got the request of something spicy.

I wanted to ensure I bring something from our homeland and not the fake Indian food like butter chicken. It also needed to be finger food and palatable to the western taste. I settled on Dhakai fish, which is a shallow fried fish garnished with sautéed onion and green chilies. I made it with locally available fresh rock-fish fillet. You can use any fish of your choice both as fillet or cut into steaks. You can even use whole cut fish like pomfret. Just change the frying time depending on the size of the fish.

I have no clue why this is referred to as “Dhakai” or from Dhaka the capital of Bangladesh, it’s just what my mom used to call it.

Ingredients

• 1lb fish fillets cut into medium cubes (2" *2")
• 1tbswp. ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. rice flour
• 2 tbsp. Besan (Bengal Gram Flour)
• Salt to taste
• Oil for shallow frying

For Serving

• 1 onion thinly sliced
• 2tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 tbsp. minced ginger
• 2 tbsp. chopped green chilies
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp. oil

Procedure

Marinate the fish cubes with all ingredients other than the flours and oil for half an hour.

Once the margination is over sprinkle the flours over it and mix it gently so the fish cubes are roughly coated with the flours.

Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the fish pieces on medium high heat in a single layer so that their surface turns crispy yet the inside stays soft and juicy. It takes about three minutes. Remove them.

Now keep one tbsp. oil in the pan and add chopped ginger, garlic, onion sliced fry on medium high heat for about two to three minutes. Add green chilies to it and fry everything together on low heat.

Add fried fished to it and toss very gently to coat the fishes with the fried spices. Take care not to break the fishes.

Serve on a platter and garnish with chopped cilantro and crushed black pepper.

Enjoy with plain rice or as a finger food.

Gondhoraj Bhetki

Gondhoraj Bhetki is one of the most popular dishes served in the famous Oh Calcutta! restaurant in Kolkata. If you landed on this page searching for that, then this is not it. Oh Calcutta created it’s own version to appeal to a more cosmopolitan clientele. Gondhoraj Bhetki or fragnant bhetki presented here is the authentic traditional summer food prepared in Bengali households, something my grand mom or mom would’ve made.

 

Ingredients

• 4 medium sized steak pieces of bhetki (substitute with Cod or Tai Snapper steak based on local availability)
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tsp. ginger paste
• 1/2 tsp. garlic paste
• 1 tsp. green chili paste
• 2 large gondhoraj lime (substitute with any fragrant large lime)
• 1 tsp. gondhoraj lime rind
• 4 kafir lime leaf
• Sugar to taste
• Salt to taste
• White vegetable oil

Procedure

Clean and wash the fish. Pat it dry with a paper towel.

Grate one lime. Now cut and squeeze the juice of both the limes and reserve it.

In a bowl take half of the ginger, garlic, chili paste along with lime juice and salt. Mix it well and apply on both sides of the fish steaks. Let it rest for about thirty minutes.

Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a pan and one by one shallow fry the fish steaks after shaking off the extra marinade. Remove from oil and keep aside.

In a pan take 3-4 tsp. of refined oil and add ginger, garlic and chili paste to it. sauté on very low heat till the raw smell subsides. Turn off the heat and let it cool down a bit. Now add beaten  yogurt to it. Mix well. Add salt and sugar to your taste and add half a cup of water. Mix well and let it come to a boil. Throw the kafir lime leaves and gently slide the fish steaks in. Cook till the fish is cooked and the sauce is thick. Sprinkle the lime juice along with its rind.

Serve hot with plain rice..
 

Macher Kason Pora Jhol

 

This is a very old traditional Bangladeshi fish curry, I learnt it from my grandmom and unfortunately have no clue to the origin of the name “kason”. The main ingredient is deeply fried and almost burnt fenugreek seeds. The taste is very rustic and this is very easy and fast to make as well. You cannot go wrong with this. If you have never made fish curries this is a fantastic first yet innovative one to try.

 

Ingredients

• 4 steak pieces of  fish ( Preferably Rohu / Catla)
• 1 tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 tbsp. finely chopped green chilies
• 2 tbsp. finely chpped cilantro
• 2 tsp. methi seed (Fenugreek)
• 1 tbsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1 tsp. coriander powder
• Mustard oil
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Wash and pat dry fish pieces. Smear them with half tablespoon of turmeric powder and salt. Keep them aside for fifteen minutes.

 

In a small bowl make a paste of half turmeric powder, chili powder and coriander powder with water and keep it handy.

 

Heat mustard oil in a wok till it smokes. Reduce the heat and fry the fish pieces till both sides turn golden brown. Remove the fish pieces on a paper towel and keep aside. Discard the oil.

 

Heat another two tablespoon of oil on medium heat and temper it with methi seeds. Fry on low heat till you start getting the aroma. Now remove the methi seeds from the oil and discard.  Add chopped garlic to the oil and fry till you get a nice aroma. Remove and reserve it for garnishing. Add garlic paste to the oil along with half of  the chopped green chilies. Fry on low heat till the garlic paste loosed its raw smell.

 

add the spice powder mixture to it and fry on low heat till you can see the oil oozing out of the spice mixture. Add one cup of water and bring it to a boil before you add fried fish pieces to it. season with salt and let it boil for another five minutes.

 

Turn off the heat and garnish the gravy with fried chopped garlic, chopped green chilies and cilantro.

 

Serve with hot rice..

 

 

 

Dhania Maachie (Fish in Cilantro Sauce)

My experiment using local fresh fish for traditional Indian recipes continues with this recipe. Commonly Dhania Maachie is made with fresh water small fishes like Khoira, Puti in India. However, my supply of those are restricted to the frozen section in the local Bangladeshi store and I suspect they were caught and packaged sometime in the last century. In this version I used striped bass and it turned out pretty well.

Ingredients

• 4 medium sized fish steaks (I used wild striped Bass)
• 1 large tomato roughly chopped
• 1 medium bunch of cilantro
• 4 medium cloves of garlic
• 2 green chilies
• 1 tbsp. + 1 pinch nigella seeds (Kalojeera)
• 1 tsp. black pepper corn
• 1 green chili ( quantity can be changed depending on your heat tolerance level)
• 2 tbsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 4 tbsp. mustard oil
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Smear fish steaks with 1 tbsp. turmeric powder and salt. Keep it aside for about fifteen minutes.

Heat 2tbsp. oil in a frying pan till it smokes. Reduce the heat and fry fish steaks till both sides turn golden. Remove from oil and drain them on a paper towel.

Dry roast pepper corn and nigella seeds for about a minute. Now dry grind them in a grinder. Add cilantro, garlic and green chilies to it. Make a fine paste of them by using minimum water.

Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a pan and temper it with a pinch of nigella seeds. When the seeds stop spluttering add chopped tomato to it and sauté them on medium hear till they become mushy.

Once you see a fine line of oil separating out from the tomato add the cilantro paste along with a tsp. of turmeric powder to it. Keep sautéing till you find a nice aroma and the raw smell goes away.

Now add half cup of water along with sugar and  salt. Give a nice mix and let it come to a boil. Now gently release the fish steaks into the gravy and let it simmer for few minutes. When you see that the steaks are coated with the spices and the oil has been released you know you are done. Serve with plain hot rice.

Fish Amritsari

Fish Amritsari is a signature Punjabi dish and made from the copious supply of fresh water fish from the great rivers of Punjab. It can be made with Tilapia, Cod, Betki or Rock-fish fillets. I prefer using Rock-fish. I generally pick up Rock-fish fillets from Costco and make fish fries with the square pieces and Amritsari with the rest.

Ingredients For Marinade

• 1lb. boneless fish cut into 2 by 2 pieces (I used rock fish fillets, you can use any of your favorite fish)
• 2 lime juice
• 1 tbsp. red chili powder
• 4 tbsp. ginger paste
• 2 tsp. garlic paste
• 2 tsp. green chili paste
• Salt

Ingredients For Batter

• 1 cup besan or chick pea flour
• 2 tbsp. rice flour
• 1 tsp. ajwain (Carom seeds)
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp. thick yogurt
• Oil For Frying

Note:  I love to add chat masala before serving which is optional.

Procedure

Take all the ingredients for marinade in a bowl and mix well so that all fish get a nice coating of the spices. marinate the fish for 30 minutes.

In a separate bowl take all ingredients for batter other than oil. Whisk it well so that all ingredients are mixed properly. Now add this dry ingredient to the marinated fish and toss well so that the fish pieces are coated with a thick batter. Let it sit for another 15 minutes.

Heat enough oil for deep frying. Now gently slide each pieces of fish into the oil. Be careful not to overcrowd the oil. Fry till the outer coating is crispy and golden brown. Remove from hot oil with a slotted spoon and drain them on an absorbent paper.

Place the fried fished on a serving plate and sprinkle chat masala over them before you serve. 

Loita Maacher Chop

My previous post on Loita Macher Jhuri is one of my most popular posts. Over at my blog and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BongCook) people have told me that Loita mach (Bombay Duck) is one of their favorite. In addition to having Loita in the main course, it lends itself pretty well as a snack. 

Ingredients

• 1lb.loitya or Bombil
• 1 medium onion chopped finely
• 5-6 fat cloves of garlic 
• 2-3 green chilies chopped finely
• 2 medium potatoes boiled and peeled
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro finely chopped
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• 1 egg
• 1 cup bread crumb
• Oil

Procedure

Wash and clean the fishes and rub them with salt. Arrange these fishes on a pan and cook it covered on very low heat. The fishes will release enough water. Take out the fishes. Once they are cool enough to handle, remove the central bone and head. Reserve the fleshy part of the fish for chops.
In a pan heat 2 tsp. oil and fry chopped onion, garlic and green chilies on medium heat. When onions turn translucent add fish followed by turmeric powder, chili powder, salt and sugar. Mix well and cook for few more minutes. When you see that there is no moisture left in the fish mixture turn off the heat and add chopped cilantro and garam masala powder.
Add mashed potato and mix well with the fish mixture. Allow the mixture to cool down completely.
Take lemon sized balls out of the mixture and using your palm give them a shape of chop.
Beat one egg with a pinch of salt to prepare the egg wash. Now dip each chop in egg wash and roll them over on a bed of bread crumb. Repeat this process again to ensure that the chops retain their form and don’t disintegrate. This is called double coating.
You can now store this covered in refrigerator for 1-2 days. Make sure you take out them at least half an hour before frying.
Heat oil in a wok until almost smoking and then deep fry each chop till they turn golden brown. Remove and drain them on a paper towel.
Serve with ketchup or kasundi and some salads.

Muri-Ghonto (Fish Head with Rice)

[Updated]

Folks from Bangladesh ensure that nothing from a fish goes to waste. Not only they don’t waste anything, they have the knack of turning them into delicious food. A great example is muri-ghonto. Its hard to believe how tasty fish head and bone become.

I made muri-ghonto last week. I served it cautiously to my daughter expecting her to not eat it. I was however, awarded with a 4-thumbs up, which involves her sitting down and giving me thumbs up with her hand and feet :)

Ingredients

1. 1 head of rohu / catla cleaned and cut into quarters / halves
2. 2 tbsp. of uncooked gobindo bhog / basamati rice washed and soaked in
   water for 30 mins.
3. 2 medium potatoes cut into quarters
4. 1 medium onion finely chopped
5. 3,4 green chilies slitted length wise
6. 1/2 tsp. garlic paste
7. 1/2 tsp. ginger paste
8. 2 + 1 tsp turmeric powder
9. 1 tsp. chili powder
10. 1/2 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
11. Whole garam masala ( 1' cinnamon, 2 green cardamom, 2,3 cloves )
12. 2,3 bay leaves
13. Oil
14. Ghee (Clarified butter )
15. Salt
16. Sugar

Procedure

Marinate fish head with 2 tsp. of turmeric and salt. Heat oil in a pan till smoky. Fry fish heads on medium heat till all sides become yellow. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Discard used oil.

Take fresh oil and temper with bay leaves and pounded whole garam masala. Wait till oil becomes fragrant. Now add chopped onion and slitted green chilies. Fry on medium heat till onion becomes light pink.

Add soaked rice to it and fry for 1-2 min. Next to go in are potatoes followed by ginger garlic paste. Add turmeric and chili powder. Fry potato pieces well with all spices. You can sprinkle little water if the spices tend to stick the bottom.

Add fried fish heads to it and give them a nice mix. Season with salt and sugar. Pour about 1/2 a cup of water and bring it to a boil on high flame. After it starts boiling reduce the heat and cook it covered till potatoes are cooked and there is no excess water left in the pan. Sprinkle garam masala powder and add a tsp. full of ghee to
finish.

This is best enjoyed with pain rice in a lazy afternoon.

Red Snapper with Pyajkoli

Traditionally we make Maacher Jhol with sweet water fishes. Since here in US we have limited access to rui, katla in their frozen forms, I keep trying with various local fish. When I first found Red Snapper, instead of attempting light jhol I tried to put it into a tomato garlic based gravy with pyajkoli which I bought from the same Asian store. I was quite satisfied with the result.

Next time I am going to try this with cauliflower and bori.

Ingredients

• 4 pieces of red snapper cut into steaks
• 2 ripe red tomatoes
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 cup pyajkoli or green shallot cut into 2” pieces
• 1 medium potato cut into thick wedges
• 2-3 green chilies
• Few coriander greens chopped
• 1 tsp. kalonji seeds (Nigella)
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1 tsp. + 1tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Clean the fish steaks and pat them dry. Rub them with 1tsp. turmeric powder and salt and keep aside.

Make a paste of garlic and tomatoes.

Heat oil in a wok and shallow fry the fishes till they are golden yellow. Remove and keep aside.

If the oil turned black discard them and use fresh oil. Temper with kalonji and green chilies. Once they stop sputtering add tomato garlic paste. Sprinkle turmeric and red chili powder. Add potato wedges to it. Sauté on medium heat till oil separates out.

Add half cup of water and bring it to a boil. Season with salt and sugar. Mix everything well. Cook it covered on medium heat till potato wedges are 3/4th done. Now add the fried fish pieces and pyajkoli to it. It will now stop boiling. Increase the heat and wait for it to come to a boil again. Add chopped coriander greens and turn off the heat.

Serve with white rice.

Tilottama Rui

Tilottama rui as the name suggests is made with til or white sesame seeds. This recipe was published in a recipe book by Sananda magazine. The photo of this dish was so tempting that I thought to give it a try. The original recipe calls for both ginger and garlic but keeping the aroma of til in mind I skipped the garlic. It turned out really good.

Ingredients

• 6 pieces rui or catla (any Carp) cut into steaks
• 3 tsp. white sesame seeds
• 1 tsp. yellow mustard paste
• 1 tsp. grated ginger
• 2 – 3 green chilies slit length wise
• 1/2 tsp. kalonji (nigella seeds)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• Mustard oil

Procedure

Rub fish steaks with one tsp. turmeric powder and salt and keep aside for 15 minutes.

In a pan dry roast sesame seeds on very low heat for a minute or two. Ensure that their color remains white. Then make a paste out of this roasted sesame seeds in a grinder. You can first grind it dry and then add little water to make the paste.

In a small bowl mix the mustard paste with a quarter cup of milk and keep it handy.

Heat oil in a wok and fry the marinated fish steaks till both sides turn golden brown. Remove and keep them on an absorbent paper.

Take fresh oil in a pan and heat it. Lower the heat and temper with kalonji seeds. Add mustard paste to it. Squeeze out ginger juice from grated ginger and add the juice. Sauté for a while and then add sesame seed paste. Fry everything on low heat till oil separates out.

Add rest of the milk, green chilies and fish steaks to it. Sprinkle salt and sugar and let it simmer for about 5 – 7 minutes on medium heat. Turn off the heat.

Serve with plain white rice.

Indian Style Crispy Grilled Fish Sandwich

Many a times we do not have a traditional Indian dinner. Grilled sandwich is one of our common alternatives. I generally make it with leftovers fish chops, vegetable cutlet, keema cutlet and chicken cutlets. Grilled sandwich works as a nice filling dinner.

Ingredients

• 2 slices of sandwich breads
• Make fish chop as shown in http://www.bongcook.com/2011/08/fish-chop.html. Flatten it by pressing between your palms.
• 1 lettuce
• Few onion rings

Utensil

Griddle (Something like the one shown here).

Procedure

Heat and coat a griddle with butter. Place the fish patty and cook till one side is crispy and brown. Turn it over and cook the other side. Remove on a paper towel when done. Place the onion rings on the hot griddle and let it get caramelized a bit. Remove and keep aside. You are now ready to build up your sandwich.

Apply butter on one side of a sandwich bread. Keep the buttered side of the bread down and start stacking up the sandwich layers. Start with the patty, then a few caramelized onion rings and lettuce. Cover it up with another sandwich bread and apply butter on its top surface.

Heat your griddle and place the sandwich on it. Keep the temperature high and press the sandwich with the back of a flat spoon to spread the heat. Cook for about 1-2 minutes and then flip it. Cook the other side and then remove.

Cut the sandwich diagonally and serve.

NOTE: You can use any patty of your choice.

Fish Tikka with Rock-Fish

The latest result for my quest for finding local replacements for Indian food ingredients is rock-fish. I have been using rock-fish instead of bhetki with good success. Fish tikka with rock-fish worked really well. As my daughter puts it “rock fish really rocks”.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. fish fillets cut into 2” by 2” squares (fish like bhetki,rock-fish or cod)
• 1 medium sized red onions cut into big cubes 
• 1 tsp. garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp. ginger paste
• 3tbsp. thick plain yogurt
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp. chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp. chicken tandoori masala or garam masala
• 2 tbsp. besan (Chickpea flour)
• 1 tsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
• Mustard oil
• 1 tsp. ghee (Clarified Butter)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Marinate the fish with lime juice and salt for 15 minutes and then wash them thoroughly. Pat them dry.

Dry roast besan on low heat till the raw smell goes away. Be careful to not burn it.

In a bowl take yogurt and one by one add ginger garlic paste, dry roasted besan, tandoori masala, chopped cilantro, salt and sugar. Beat it with a hand blender till it is free of any lumps.

Now heat 1tbsp. mustard oil in a pan and add Kashmiri red chili powder to it. Immediately turn off the heat. Stir with a spoon till it releases its color in the oil.

Add this chili oil to the fish along with yogurt mixture. Keep it marinated for 2 – 3 hrs. This chili oil will give the tikka a nice color.

Skewer the fish cubes alternately with the onions and brush it with ghee. You can either grill it on micro grill combination mode in your microwave for 15 minutes or you can use your stove top skillet to grill it. It will take around 5 – 10 minutes on stove top. Once done you can increase the heat to give them a charred effect.

Sprinkle some chat masala and serve with green chutney. 

Cat Fish Curry (Magur Macher Dalna)

We love the Uwajimaya stores around Seattle. They have great collection of fresh fish. One of the things we frequently pick up, when we are at their store is magur (walking cat-fish). Magur is common fed to people when they are sick. I have heard various logic including the fact that they apparently promote blood development. Not sure about the science behind this claim but well made magur is very tasty.

Ingredients

• 4-5 pieces of cat fish steaks
• 2 medium potatoes cut into quarters
• 1 medium onion finely sliced
• 1 tsp. grated ginger
• 1 tsp. garlic paste
• 1 tomato cut into quarters
• 2 tbsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp.Bengali garam masala
• Salt to taste
• Mustard oil

Procedure

Take the fish steaks and sprinkle about 1tbsp. of salt to it. Gently rub fish pieces with salt and then wash thoroughly in running water. This fish is slimy and by washing it with salt you can get rid of the slime.

Add 1tbsp. turmeric powder and little salt to it and marinate for 10 minutes.

Heat mustard oil in a wok or kadai till it smokes. Reduce the heat and gently release the fish steaks into the hot oil. Fry on medium heat till all sides turn golden yellow, then remove.

You can reuse the oil for gravy or if you want you can discard and use fresh oil. Heat up the oil again and slightly brown the onion slices. Add potato cubes to it and fry them along with onion for some time.

Add the tomato quarters and follow by ginger garlic paste.

Sprinkle turmeric and chili powder and fry everything together till the potato cubes are well coated with spices and the raw smell subsides.

Add 1 cup of water to it and season with salt and sugar. Mix well. Let it cook on medium heat till potato cubes are just done.

Now add fish steaks to the gravy and simmer for another 5 minutes.

When most of the moisture is dried up and the oil separates, sprinkle garam masala powder and turn off the heat.

Serve with plain hot rice.

Kechki Maacher Jhuri

Kechki fish generally floats on the top of rivers and make the water shimmer with it’s silver color. I have heard stories from my aunts about how they used to catch them with theirs cotton towels after a dip in the river in their childhood.

In Bangladesh spicy dry fish curry is common. These are called jhuri which indicates that the curry is dry. Kechki was easily available in Kolkata before. However, it slowly turned into a rarity. Thanks to our local Bangladeshi store, we get it pretty easily here.

Ingredients

• Kechki fish
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 1 large tomato finely chopped
• 3-4 green chilies lengthwise slit
• 8-10 cloves of garlic roughly pound
• A fistful of chopped coriander leaves (Cilantro)
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp. red chili powder
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• 4-5 tbsp. mustard oil

Procedure

Wash the fish and drain the water. Add turmeric powder and salt to it and marinate for 15 minutes.

Heat mustard oil in a pan till it smokes. Now reduce the heat and add chopped onions and green chilies to it. Fry on medium heat till the edges get a nice caramel color.

Add garlic cloves to it and fry for few more minutes till you get a nice aroma of fried garlic. Now add tomatoes, followed by chili powder. Sauté on medium heat till tomato becomes mushy. Now add the cleaned fish to it. Discard any excess water released by the fish.

Keep frying the fish on medium heat till they are nicely coated with spices. This is the time you adjust salt and add sugar to balance. Keep on frying on medium heat till the moisture is all dried up and oil is separated. It takes about 5-10 minutes on medium heat.

Add chopped coriander leaves and mix once again before you serve.

Loytta / Loitta Maacher Jhuri

This fish is known by different names and spellings. In West Bengal and Bangladesh it is Loytta or Loitta and in Mumbai it is known as Bombil or Bombay-Duck.

Loytta is a very soft and mushy fish and hence can be cooked without additional water. However, it does need a lot of oil, and hence is not a good option for the health freak.

Ingredients

• 2lb. loitya maach or Bombay Duck cleaned and washed
• 2 medium sized onion thinly sliced
• 1 medium tomato finely chopped
• 10 – 12 fat cloves of garlic crushed  
• 5 – 6 green chilies finely chopped
• 1 + 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1tsp. chili powder  
• 1/2 cup finely chopped coriander leaves (Cilantro)
• 1tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• 5 – 6 tbsp. mustard oil

Procedure

Smear the fish with half tsp. turmeric and salt. Now take a pan and arrange them in a single layer. Turn the heat on low and cook the fish for 2-3 minutes before you turn them over. The fish will release enough water, so don’t add any more. Wait till the other side gets cooked. Turn off the heat.

When you feel it’s cool enough to touch, remove the central bone. Hold one side of the bone and just pull it apart.

Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onion, and garlic to it. Fry on low heat till they turn light brown. Now add chopped green chilies and tomato to and fry them till the tomato turns mushy. Add turmeric, chili powder and fry till the raw smell of spices subside.

Add fish and keep frying it with the spices till the oil separates out from the spices. Now add salt, sugar and mix everything well. Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro before you serve.

Hilsha / Ilish Festival at Home

When we went to the “International Food Bazar” in Bellevue I made a sudden discovery. It was a pack of Kochur-lati just on the shelve beside the Hilsa.

My bong soul didn’t even let me think twice. Before we realized we were back in the car with our bags filled with the goodies. The next day we had a Hilsa festival at home. The spread was breath-taking, at least it took my breath away :)

I have posted the recipes already, here goes the links

1. Hilsha roe fried (come on you don’t need a recipe for that!!)
2. Kochur lati
3. Patla Jhol
4. Bhape