Chital Maacher Jhol
It is that time of the year..the month of January, harvest festival going on all over the country which we know variously as Shakranti, Pongal, Lohri. Uttarayna, etc. Festivals in our country are just another excuse to cook different kinds of food and meet family and friends.
This is also the right season to have that king of all fishes, the mighty Chital, which is known as the Clown Knife fish in English. Somehow the translation robs the fish of its glory.
Coming home after ages I have been hogging on fish so much that my mother commented that it was as if her son-in-law had come home and not her daughter.
And why did she say that? Because fish like Chital are served to ‘kutumb’ or honoured guests, mostly related through marriage. When such guests come over grandfatherly figures grab their ‘jhola’ and go to the nearest fish market. They pick out the choicest fish pieces and spend a good amount of time haggling over the prices. Being the costlier variety of fish they are meant only for the guests. The pieces are so big that they don’t fit into a quarter plate. So you bring out those massive thalas/plates that take up half the table.
With so much thought and consideration going into the process you can understand why my mother commented that I was acting like a guest.
I have made a very simple jhol or gravy because this fish is so awesome that it doesn’t need to be drowned in a lot of spices and condiments.
Ingredients
4 chital maacher peti
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp salt
½ tsp jeera
1 large tomato, chopped
2 potatoes, cubed
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
½ cup mustard oil
Apply salt and turmeric to the fish and keep aside for half an hour.
Heat the mustard oil to smoking point. Reduce flame and fry the fish pieces.
In the same oil add the jeera. Add the cubed potatoes and fry well. Add half the ginger paste and chopped tomato.
Cover and cook till the tomato becomes soft.
Add the cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Fry till the oil separates.
Add one cup of water and bring to a boil. Now add the fish pieces, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add the rest of the ginger paste, simmer for a minute and take off the heat. Garnish with ginger juliennes and fresh coriander leaves.
It is that time of the year..the month of January, harvest festival going on all over the country which we know variously as Shakranti, Pongal, Lohri. Uttarayna, etc. Festivals in our country are just another excuse to cook different kinds of food and meet family and friends.
This is also the right season to have that king of all fishes, the mighty Chital, which is known as the Clown Knife fish in English. Somehow the translation robs the fish of its glory.
Coming home after ages I have been hogging on fish so much that my mother commented that it was as if her son-in-law had come home and not her daughter.
And why did she say that? Because fish like Chital are served to ‘kutumb’ or honoured guests, mostly related through marriage. When such guests come over grandfatherly figures grab their ‘jhola’ and go to the nearest fish market. They pick out the choicest fish pieces and spend a good amount of time haggling over the prices. Being the costlier variety of fish they are meant only for the guests. The pieces are so big that they don’t fit into a quarter plate. So you bring out those massive thalas/plates that take up half the table.
With so much thought and consideration going into the process you can understand why my mother commented that I was acting like a guest.
I have made a very simple jhol or gravy because this fish is so awesome that it doesn’t need to be drowned in a lot of spices and condiments.
Ingredients
4 chital maacher peti
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp salt
½ tsp jeera
1 large tomato, chopped
2 potatoes, cubed
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
½ cup mustard oil
Apply salt and turmeric to the fish and keep aside for half an hour.
Heat the mustard oil to smoking point. Reduce flame and fry the fish pieces.
In the same oil add the jeera. Add the cubed potatoes and fry well. Add half the ginger paste and chopped tomato.
Cover and cook till the tomato becomes soft.
Add the cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Fry till the oil separates.
Add one cup of water and bring to a boil. Now add the fish pieces, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add the rest of the ginger paste, simmer for a minute and take off the heat. Garnish with ginger juliennes and fresh coriander leaves.
No comments:
Post a Comment