Maacher Jhaal

Maacher Jhaal

There are so many ways that fish is cooked in a Bengali household. Every family has a variation of the same dish. In the days of the zamindari the family used to own “pukur” or ponds. Some of these ponds were meant only for bathing or washing clothes. And certain ponds were meant only for fishing. Those waters were never polluted by doing household chores.

 I remember, as a child, going to our ancestral village. It was a novelty to experience the luxury of having a fish pond in your own backyard. The fresh fish caught and cooked within the hour had such an amazing taste which is simply not there in the fish we get today.

Maccher Jhaal has many variations and every family has its own way of cooking it. This is my favorite version of the dish. It is a very mustardy preparation, cooked in mustard oil and simmered in a mustard gravy. It is tangy and spicy without the use of any masalas. So enjoy!!

Ingredients

250 gms fish fillets ( you can use rahu/bhetki. I have used Basa fillets)

4 tbsp mustard seds

2 tbso poppy seeds

3 green chillies

1 tsp salt

1 tsp Nigella seeds

1 tomato, pureed

½ tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

4 tbsp mustard oil

If you are using Basa fillets then they don’t need to be fried. However if you are using Rahu/Basa then you need to fry them once beforehand. Apply some salt and turmeric powder and then fry them well.

Soak the mustard seeds and poppy seeds in hot water for 20 minutes. Grind them to a fine paste along with salt and green chillies. It is very important that while grinding mustard seeds you add some salt to it otherwise the paste will turn bitter.

Heat some oil. Add the Nigella seeds. Then add the pureed tomato and fry well. Once the oil starts separating add the mustard-poppy seeds paste, salt and turmeric. Fry on slow heat till the paste is cooked properly. Add a cup of water and bring to a boil. Now add the raw Basa/fried rahu/bhetki. Lower heat and simmer till the fish is cooked.

This dish is best eaten with hot steaming rice.