Easy Tomato Fish Curry – For the Love of Fishes, Tomato & Bangaliana

A classic Bengali macher jhol is comforting to the soul and soothing to the palette. And it is the national dish of Bengalis – on both sides of the border.

And tomatoes are beautiful. The bright red of the tomatoes when cooked give the curry not just a touch of tang, but also a flair of its appearance.

Easy Tomato Fish Curry

Personally speaking, I do not love raw tomatoes, but when cooked there is a magical transformation in its flavor and I have always loved it.

The power of tomatoes to release its flavor and losing its form, while acquiring the flavor of the other ingredients that make up the dish makes me appreciate this vegetable, that was introduced by the Portuguese around 200 years ago only.

Flavors of the Dish

This is a recipe for all seasons.

In winter, it provides you the warmth.

In summer, it soothes a soul beaten down by the hot sun.

Mix in some gravy with rice and take a mouthful.

You feel the simplicity of the flavors instantly.

There is a tang from the tomatoes, followed by the sweet flavors from the fish.

A hint of nuttiness from the nigella seeds.

You tuck in a wedge of tomato. The tomatoes have lost its form and have gathered within itself the flavors from the gravy.

It feels so good!

Motivation and Future Enhancements

We are making food complex with every passing day and that is sad.

Food is not just for the taste buds, but also for health.

And over the years I have learnt to appreciate the magic of simple food, cooked without the presence of spoonful of harsh spices.

Adding more spice to your food, will not necessarily make it taste better.

On a Sunday, I would prefer to cook a food that is simple, delicious, soothing. And this Bengali tomato fish curry is a step towards it.

In my next iterations, I would love to induce the flavor of curry leaves. I am lucky to have a curry leaf tree at home.

The second thing I might try to do is replace the green chilies with freshly ground black pepper.

The tomato fish curry can be whipped up using ingredients that are common in every Bengali (Indian/Bangladesh) pantry, and does not require ingredients like onion and garlic. It is simple and minimalist.

Can You Use Any Fish for This Tomato Fish Curry Recipe?

In this simple and easy Bengali fish jhol cooked with tomatoes, the main ingredient stands out.

The fish (unquestionably the king of the dish) imparts its flavors to the curry and hence you may use a wide varieties of fish to whip up this dish.

From medium sized fishes like rohu and catla to smaller ones like bata, charapona, feel free to use fishes locally available in the market.

Buy fresh, eat fresh!

How Long to Fry the Fish for a Bengali Fish Jhol?

The below excerpts are mentioned in the previous blogs on fish curry, and the tomato fish curry is no exception.

In Bengal, there is a ritual of frying the fish before putting it in the gravy.

This serves two purpose – one it prevents the fish from disintegrating when you simmer it in the gravy, secondly, you can store a fried fish longer in case you don’t need to put all of your pieces in the gravy. Thirdly, a fried fish served along with rice and dal makes for a comfortable meal.

Many prefer frying the fish till it turns red, while many prefer frying it light or long enough till it starts changing the color from yellowish brown to reddish brown.

In Odisha and certain parts of Bengal, for example, the fish is lightly fried and I have noticed that this results in the flavors from the gravy or jhol seeping into the fish, resulting in a more juicier experience.

What Are the Major Ingredients in Easy Tomato Fish Curry?

The fish, of course.

There are several kingmakers, and they include tomatoes, ginger, nigella seeds and turmeric powder.

All these ingredients form a simple fusion that is delicious, to say the least.

Green chilies provide a fresh zing to the kalo jeere diye macher jhol.

You may drop in vegetables and tubers like potatoes and cauliflowers, however, it is not mandatory. The sobji diye macher jhol is another recipe that you may follow if you want to introduce veggies in your macher jhol.

What Not to Include?

Bengali cooking has always been welcoming to foreign ingredients.

For example – the potato was never a part of Bengali cooking till the 19th century; yet the 20th century saw the potato turn into the most consumed vegetable in Bengal.

As someone who has learnt to appreciate the use of minimalist ingredients in cooking, I have not used cumin, coriander and red chili powder.

Onion and garlic is not used in this recipe, and you may follow the macher kalia recipe which uses onions and garlic.

Very few people can handle spice powders in a proper way, without burning them.

Spice powders take longer to cook and must be added in a proper sequence to bring out their flavors. And why complicate a dish when it can taste as delicious without throwing in so many types of spice powders.

A common query that might come up here is – can tomatoes be replaced with curd?

Flavor wise yes! Replacing the tomatoes with curd would change the color and texture of the dish. Using tomatoes give a more vibrant color to the dish.