Keyword: Bengali Hilsha Curry, Bengali light fish curry, Ilish Macher Jhol, Light Fish Curry
Servings: 4people
Author: Samrat Roy Chowdhuri
Cost: ₹ 350
Equipment
Preparation Bowl
Wok
Spatula
Mortar Pestle
Serving Bowl
Ingredients
200gilish or hilsa fish
6tspmustard oil
6pcgreen chilies, crushed
1tspkalonji or Bengali kalo jeere
1tspturmeric powder
2cupwater
salt to taste
Crush Coarsely
2pcgreen chilies
1tspkalonji or Bengali kalo jeere
Instructions
Preparing for Kalo Jeere Diye Ilish Macher Jhol
Crush all the ingredients using a mortar pestle roughly as mentioned under "Crush Coarsely"
Marinade the fish pieces with salt and allow to rest for 15 minutes
Cooking the Kalo Jeer Diye Ilish Macher Jhol
In a wok, add oil
Once the oil begins to smoke, add the slit green chilies and kalo jeere and roast on a low flame for sometime
Add water and bring to a boil
Add the crushed nigella seeds and crushed green chilies prepared previously
Add turmeric powder and drop in the fish pieces carefully
Add salt and allow to cook until done
Taste for seasonings and adjust if required
Allow the gravy to reach to the desired consistency, cook till done
Switch off the flame and allow to rest
Serve hot with rice
Notes
As you might have already noticed, this recipe does not use fried fish pieces. This is because raw fish marinaded with salt provides better flavors that fish fried before adding to the curry. Many people however, prefer frying their fish and using it in the gravy
Boil the jhol or curry properly to remove the smell of the raw turmeric
Spices like coriander, cumin, red chilly powder are best avoided