Doi Maach/ Fish in Yogurt

 
I personally think that cooking at home daily is tricky. Because when we visit at restaurants we always try some special dishes or there are so many spices and ingredients available for Chef which are big No-No for home kitchen. AT home we have to try new dish with small ingredient a bit here and there. It is not easy which will water our taste buds with small changes.

But honestly home cooking is not so tough as I love it. I often hear my friends say they hardly cook and their cook does it all or if they are a young couple they just order home delivery. And when they do say that, there is a hint of pride for being able to afford a cook and an undertone of disdain for the very job of home cooking.

But there is something wholesome and warm about this whole cooking thing which the tequila does not bring.Its god that my mother ,aunt has made a warmth in family with their food everyday.This is the reason for what we all eagerly waited for meal. It need not be an elaborate meal always, you need not do it all by yourself.

 Doi Maach is a fish recipe with only special ingredient Yogurt.

Doi Maach or Fish in Yogurt Sauce is a typical Bengali dish which is light, easy to prepare and yet is a favourite as a dish you would serve your guests on those special occasions.

My husband says that I should do this without frying the fish. I however always lightly fry the fish and I am presenting here that version

 Doi Maach

What You Need

Fish(Rohu or Rui) – 8 pieces large
Onion ~ about 5 tbsp heaped
Ginger ~ 2 tsp paste
Yogurt ~ 1/2 cup
Turmeric Powder ~ ½ tsp
Red Chilli Powder ~ ½ tsp
Green Chillies ~ 8 cut in slits

Whole Garam Masala
Elaichi or Cardamom~ 5/6
Laung or Cloves~ 5/6
TejPata or BayLeaves~ 3
Dalchini or Cinnamon Sticks ~ 1” stick

Salt
Oil
Sugar ~ 1tsp

How I Do It

Clean the fish pieces and lightly rub with salt and turmeric. Keep aside for half an hour
Grind the onion to a fine paste

In a bowl add 1/2 cup of yogurt/curd and add about 1/3 cup of water and beat till its smooth in consistency. Add, ½ tsp of red chilli powder, a little of turmeric powder for the color and beat.

Heat Oil in Kadai/Pan.
When the oil is sufficiently hot, add the fish and lightly fry till light golden. Take out the fish and keep aside.
Add whole garam masala.
When they start sputtering, add about 1 tsp of sugar and fry the onion paste till the oil separates and the onion turns a light brown
Add about 1 tsp of ginger paste and the green chillies and sauté well
Now take the Kadai/Frying Pan off the heat and give it a couple of minutes to cool
Add the beaten yogurt/curd and mix with the masala. If you add the yogurt directly when the utensil is on heat the curd may curdle so you need to do this.

Put back the Kadai/ Pan on heat.
Add salt as required .Add about 1/2 - 2/3 cup of water at this point. Depending on how much gravy you need you might need more or less water.
Simmer on low heat till the gravy comes to a boil
Add the fried fish pieces, they should partially submerge in the gravy.

 Enjoy this dish with white rice.

Muro Ghonto

Bengali kids  when they have not tasted anything beyond mother's milk ,at their Annaprashan or Rice Ceremony, an occasion to mark the intake of first morsel of rice by a Bengali baby, they are offered to suck Payesh and then presented with a silver plate with rice, dal, bhaja, maacher muro(fried fish head), fish curry, chaatni, mishti. A moment with the fish head is captured on either a film roll or a piece of digital memory .For fish loving Bongs anything fishy is "not fishy" but auspicious and might even bring good luck.

When we were kids we were pushed into this barbaric activity (of eating fish head) with an incentive that devouring fish head especially the brain part of it would enrich our brains and also make our vision stronger."Khub buddhi hobe (You will have a high intelligence)", my Ma or Aunt would shout.

By the time we were teenagers and had lost sight to myopia and also lost faith in "more buddhi" when we saw veggie eating South Indians topping the IIT-JEE every year.

The deed was done, we were now fish head loving converts for life.

Muri Ghonto is a dry dish made with fried fish head (known as maacher matha or muro in Bengali), potatoes, very little rice and spices. Don't turn up your nose, it smells nothing but heavenly and tastes more so. If you haven't sucked onto a piece of fish head and pondered on the complexities of life while doing so, you have not lived a full life.

To eat and relish Muri Ghonto you need a long leisurely afternoon, enough time to deal with fish head pieces without being rushed, company that will let you sit cross-legged on your dining chair and rest your elbows on the table, people who will not make fun of your facial expressions and of course a nice nap afterward.

When I made this,my husband had with Rice,I itself.One of friends(Paku) called then and gave a great comment "Bhat diye bhat khli tora?"(Have you guys had rice with ric as side dish?)

Muri Ghonto

What You need

Fish Head (Rui/ Katla)

Oil

Bay Leaves
Cardamom
Cinnamon
Green Chilly
Onions
Ginger
Salt to taste
Ghee
Coriander powder
Garma masala
Red Chilly powder
Turmeric
Rice
Water
Potato
Prep: Wash and clean fish head, sprinkle salt and turmeric and let it sit for 15-30 minutes. I used half of a regular sized fish head for fish like Rohu or Rui. I have not used fish head of salt water fish or any other fish than Rohu for this dish ever and do not know how it might taste.
How I do it

Heat Oil in a Kadhai/Frying Pan

Fry the Fish head till its nicely fried. While frying try breaking it into medium sized pieces, kind that is easier to suck on but will not choke you. Remove and keep aside.

Fry 2 cut and cubed potatoes to a light golden, remove and keep aside

Temper the Oil with a large Bay Leaf, 2 green cardamom and a 1/2" cinnamon stick

Add the paste of one medium sized onion and fry till the oil separates and the onion has taken on a light brownish hue

Add 1-2 tsp of fresh grated ginger, 2-3 slit green chillies, 1 tsp of Cumin powder and saute the masala with a sprinkle of water for couple of minutes. Now add back the potatoes

Saute for a minute

Add 1 cup of uncooked and washed Gobindo bhog( a variety of rice).  Basmati Rice also works.

Fry for a couple of minutes and add the fried fish head pieces.

Add 1 tsp of fresh Garam Masala Powder, 1/4 tsp or less of Red Chilli Powder, salt and mix well.

Add about 1 cup of water and cover and cook at low heat.

Check to see if you need water in between, and stir in between.

Cook till the rice and potatoes are done. It should be moist but will not have a gravy.

Add Ghee on top.(Optional)

 

Ilish Maacher Jhol

Knock,Knock

R you Ghoti or Bangal?

"Bangal"  is the colloquial term for people from East Bengal now a separate country called Bangladesh. "Ghoti" is the local term for people from West Bengal. These terms are mostly used in jocular fashion and indicates the ancestral roots of a family as to whether it went back to East Bengal or West Bengal.

There are two subtle things which shake their differences.One is ILISHA-CHINGRI(Good quality Ilisha basically found better in Padma river at Bangladesh,so its close to Bangals and Prawn is famous for Ghotis) and other is EastBengal-Mohonbagan football team.
 As I am a hard core female and as people say females arE not fond of soccer,So for me war is mainly who is better Chef?Bangals are very proud of their cuisine and expertise in cooking and even I have heard from some people that “Bangals” know to put even vegetable peels to good use the “Ghotis” know how to apply those to their faces.

But I am loving daughter of my parent ,My Dad is Bangal and Mom is Ghoti.And Mom is simple Chef with certain delicacy.Not only for that,I like food and love different ascent and style...

Today its about Ilisha  .The menu usually BengaleeS prepare is always ilish bhaja(fried Hilsa), ilish bhaape (steamed Hilsa) or shorshe ilish ( Hilsa in mustard sauce) during monsoon.

Years ago it was the day of Saraswati Pujo.In my home this was not only a vegetarian day but a day on which you ate Khichuri, bhaja, chaatni & such. The day didn't hold much of a prospect regarding food for me until my aunt's elder sister called and invited me over to their home for Dinner . I wasn't too enthusiastic about the food thinking it would be the same fare but the lure of her latest Sidney Sheldon was there and so I went.

Come lunch time, the table was laid out and we sat. There were hardly 2-3 covered serving bowls on the dining table and I felt forlorn, till Mashi(Aunt's elder sister) started serving. There was no Khichuri but plain white rice, dal, alu bhaja(potato fries) and a ilish er jhol( Hilsa in a light curry)

"How can you eat fish on Saraswati Pujo ?", I was aghast

"But Bangals have a tradition of eating Ilish on Saraswati Pujo, we absolutely must and if it is Jora Ilish(a hilsa pair) all the better", said Mashi. Wow, Bangals .

And then I saw Ilish with all that begun (eggplant), a Ilish Begun er jhol (Hilsa in a light gravy with eggplant) they told me.The simplicity of the curry bursting with flavor of soft brinjal, the taste of the Hilsa and the mustard oil was too much for me. It was absolutely delicious, it shifted Ilish's position from a special fish you would respect to a homely fish you could love.

I have been in love with this dish ever since.This is served with white rice for a homely meal.

Ilish Begun er Jhol/Hilsa & Eggplant in a light gravy

How I Do it
Wash and clean 4-5 pieces of Hilsa. Pat dry and smear with 1/4 tsp of Turmeric and salt. Keep aside for 15-20 minutes

Heat Mustard Oil to smoking in a Kadhai.

Gently slide the fish pieces into the hot oil. Beware of all the spluttering. Note: sometimes I sprinkle a little turmeric powder on the hot oil and then slide in the fishes to reduce the splatter

Fry the fish pieces to a light golden yellow on both sides. Try not to brown or burn them. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain them on a kitchen towel.

Since this is Ilish/Hilsa we will not throw away the oil and use the same oil for the jhol

Temper/Chaunce the oil with 1/2 tsp of Kalonji/Nigella seeds and 5-6 slit hot Indian Green Chilli

Once the spice pops add 1 long japanese eggplant washed & chopped longitudinally in length of 1&1/2" to 2"

Saute the eggplant till they are lightly browned and soft.

Add 1-1&1/2 cups of water. Add salt, a little turmeric and cook till the eggplants soften. Sometimes I will add a little corriander powder but mostly I don't

Add the fish pieces and cook for 2-3 minutes

The gravy will be light and soupy and tastes delicious with white rice.