Keyword: Alu diye macher jhol, bengali fish curry, comfort food, macher jhol, panch phoron diye macher jhol
Servings: 4people
Author: Samrat Roy Chowdhuri
Cost: ₹ 70
Equipment
1 Knife & Chopping Board
1 Wok & Spatula
Preparation & serving bowls
Ingredients
For Frying the Fish
4pcrui (rohu) fish, cutaround 250 g
1/3tspturmeric powder
1/4tspsalt
4tspmustard oil
For the Panch Phoron Diye Macher Jhol
1tspginger paste
1/3tspturmeric powder
1pcpotatooptional
2pcmedium-sized tomatoor 1 big sized tomato
2cupwater
salt to taste
1/2tspsugaroptional, to balance the flavors only
For the Panch Phoron Tempering
1/2tspmustard oil
1tsppanch phoron
2pcgreen chili
Instructions
Preparation for the for Kalo Jeere Diye Macher Jhol (10 minutes)
In a bowl take the fish, and add the turmeric powder and salt, as mentioned under "For Frying the Fish", Allow to rest for 10 minutes and proceed with the rest of the preparation
Slice the green chilies and chop the tomatoes into cubes
If you have fresh ginger at home, take 2 inch of the ginger and make it into a fine paste
Peel and slice the potatoes in bigger wedges
Frying the Fish (10 minutes)
Put on the wok and turn on the flame. Ensure the flame is medium-high
Once the wok heats up, add in the mustard oil as mentioned under "For Frying the Fish"
When the oil starts smoking, lower the flamer and add in the marinated pieces of fish
Allow to fry for a couple of minutes on one side and then turn over and fry for 1-2 minutes
Once the fish is fried, separate from oil and keep aside. Repeat for all the pieces
Cooking the Kalo Jeere Diye Macher Jhol (30 minutes)
In the same wok, you may prepare the rest of the dish. No more oil is needed, the rest of the cooking happens on medium flame
Add in the potaotes and turmeric. Stir for a minute
Add in the ginger paste. Saute this along with the potato for 2-3 minutes. If needed, splash in some water to avoid burning of the spices
Add in the chopped tomato. Cook on a low to medium flame till the tomatoes turn into a mash
Add in the water. Once the water comes to a boil add in the salt and check for seasonings. Adjust if needed
At this point, if you have fish head (macher muro), add it in the jhol (gravy) and cook covered for 10 minutes. The head has a lot of deliciousness and this enriches the flavor of the dish
Drop in the fish pieces very carefully one by one
Add in the sugar and allow to simmer on a low flame for another 5 minutes
Transfer the entire fish jhol to a bowl. Run the wok through water to clean it and put it back on the stove
Tempering with the Panch Phoron (2 minutes)
Ensure that the wok is dry
Add in mustard oil as mentioned in the "For the Panch Phoron Tempering"
Once hot, lower the flame and add in the slit green chillies and panch phoron. The ingredients are mentioned under "For the Panch Phoron Tempering"
Saute for half a minute and allow the aroma to fill the air around
Very carefully pour in the fish jhol created previously and give it a nice stir
Allow to simmer for a minute and switch off the flame
Keep covered and allow it to rest
Serve hot with hot rice
Notes
You may also add slit green chilies when the fish is simmering in the gravy
Red chili powder can be added if you want a red color to the gravy, however, I have not used it in the recipe. Store-bought red chili powder is unhealthy
You may throw in a couple of sprigs of coriander stems in the panch phoron diye macher jhol towards the end and keep covered till it is time to serve. This is optional