Maacher Jhol - Bengali Mustard Fish Curry

I just love fish curry and rice!! 

In fact, its smells and flavors stirs beautiful childhood memories of dad preparing this sumptuous dish for us. 

Those were special times indeed, when usually on a Sunday, dad would take over the kitchen, don an apron (which was an absolute must) and get about his task with us three kids hanging excitedly in the kitchen around him, watching him and feeling very important if a task was assigned to us. He would himself go to the market to pick up the fish (mom being a pure vegetarian preferred to stay away) and then cleaned it, fried it in mustard oil before adding it into a mind-blowingly delicious gravy. The taste and flavors are till date, deeply etched in my mind and I feel that no other fish curry I have tasted so far, has been able to hold a candle to my dad's delicious preparation.

Maybe one of these days, I will ask him to recreate the same magic for us (I am sure his grandchildren will enjoy that and would love to be his aides, irrespective of the fact whether he would actually want them to be around). 

Alas!! I somehow did not end up inheriting this great skill from him. Try as I might, I am totally hopeless when it comes to selecting and cooking fresh fish. I always get knotted up when it comes to picking up fish and forget all the tips that have been sounded to me over the years, by friends and family, about  picking a fish with shining eyes and pink skin, so in the end, its safely the frozen variety for me. Also, another thing that deters me from cooking fresh fish is the smell. Phew!! My entire kitchen (including me) smells fishy for the next couple of days, not to mention the innumerable complaints about the smell from my hubby and son who are not big fans of eating fish. 

A few disastrous experiments had me wisely employing a Bengali lady, Pooja, who now satisfies my craving by cooking a good, mean fish curry. Her fish curry is quite different from my dad's recipe but is delicious in its own way. It has a zesty flavor of ground mustard paste as well as the spicy kick of the hot green chilies which will immediately make you fall in love with it. 

 It's a really easy recipe with just a handful of ingredients. To make it more simple I have posted step-by-step pictures for you to follow. 
This recipe is dedicated to my dear dad for always bringing a smile to my face. 
Thanks  Pooja for sharing this wonderful recipe. I hope all you fish lovers enjoy this dish as much as I do!!

Ingredients

500 gms white fish fillets

1 tbsp chilli powder

4 tbsp yellow mustard seeds(soaked in water for an hour)

4 tsp khus khus seeds

1 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 green chillies, split in the middle

1 cup tomato puree

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

4 tbsp Mustard oil 

Method

Wash the fish fillets thoroughly and pat each piece dry with a kitchen towel.

Sprinkle the fish with turmeric powder and salt and mix well to ensure that each piece is coated well.

Keep aside for half an hour.

Heat the mustard oil in a pan till it reaches smoking point. Fry the fish lightly till it is golden brown on both the sides.

Grind the soaked mustard seeds and poppy seeds to a smooth and creamy paste.

Heat oil in a wide skillet. Add the methi seeds, green chilies and the red chilli powder to the oil.

Next add in the pureed tomatoes and saute for a couple of minutes  till the oil starts to seperate.

Add in the mustard seeds paste to the tomato puree and mix in well. Leave to simmer for 8-10 minutes.

Add about 1  cup of water, bring to a boil and put to simmer. Drop in the fish pieces and simmer for a few more minutes till the gravy thickens. 

Serve with freshly prepared plain rice.

Pooja and Kavita - my invaluable helps

Breadcrumbed Basa Fillets

Here's another super quick and easy recipe for all the fish lovers out there. Myself being one, I absolutely loved this recipe!! 

The preparation for this dish takes hardly any time, making it just ideal to cook on days when you want a great tasting meal but just don't feel like spending hours preparing it. The Basa fillets are really delicious and tender. Just be careful not to overcook the fish, I cook them about 8-10 minutes on each side. Serve with a nice green salad, tartar sauce and finger chips. 

Ingredients 

2 basa fillet
4 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp lemon juice
olive oil for shallow frying
Lemon wedges to garnish

Method

Cut each Basa fillet in half to make 4, then rinse and pat them dry with paper towels. 
Marinate with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Keep aside for 15 minutes.

Spread the breadcrumbs out on a plate. Break the egg in to a flat bottomed bowl, season and beat lightly with a fork  to combine. Submerge the fillets into the beaten eggs making sure they coat well. 

Immediately put them into the breadcrumb mixture to cover completely. 

Put it back into the beaten egg and pat in the breadcrumbs a second time. This ensures a much more even and crispier coating. 

Pour some oil in to a non-stick frying pan large enough to contain the fillets and gently heat. Place it in the frying pan and fry over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes on each side till nicely crisp and brown.

Plate the basa fillet and arrange the finger chips alongside. Garnish with the lemon slices and serve hot.

Grilled Fish Fillets

What can be more healthy and delicious than grilled fish ? Give me fish any time of the day - may it be grilled, fried, baked, curry - fish in any form and I am just about ready to lap it all up. In addition to being quick and easy, the light lemon juice marinade in this dish keeps the flavors fresh and delicious - just the way I love it.

Ingredients

4 fish fillets (I used Basa fish)

For the Marinade

2 tbsp Delmonte extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp garlic paste

1 tsp dried Rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

Method
In a bowl mix all the ingredients for the marinade together.
Add the fish fillets to the marinade making sure that all the fish pieces are well coated with it.
Cover and keep in the fridge for a couple of hours to make sure that the flavors are well infused into the fish. In case you don't have time, leave this step out and just go ahead and cook it.

Heat a non-stick pan and brush it lightly with a little oil. 

Grill the fish for 5-7 minutes on each side basting regularly with the marinade.

Once done, remove on a plate and sueeze some lemon juice on it.

Serve it hot with potato wedges and stir fried vegetables on the side.

This recipe is participating in The Delmonte Blogger recipe carnival.
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Fish in Lemon Butter Sauce

I just loved this fish. A very simple recipe yet totally melt-in-the-mouth delicious.
I am usually little wary  working with fish as I do not have much expertise in cooking this delicacy, even though, at the first given opportunity I love to order it. My love for fish has me always on the lookout for easy recipes which are simple and quick to make and believe me this recipe was an absolute cakewalk. I used lemon pepper (Keya's) instead of black pepper and it is was just  perfect to add that much needed zing to the dish. 

Ingredients
4 fish fillets
2 tsp lemon juice
6 tsp butter
1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp fresh chives.
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
4 tbsp water
1 tbsp flour
 salt to taste

Method

Pat fish fillets dry with paper towel. 

Mix the flour with seasoned salt and lemon pepper in a shallow dish.

Dredge the fish with the seasoned flour.

Melt 3 tsp butter in a saucepan over low heat.

When the butter gets heated up (Be careful not to burn the butter), add the fish and cook on both sides till golden brown and tender.

Transfer to a serving plate.

Add the remaining butter and lemon juice to the pan, increase heat and stir.

Dissolve the flour in the water and add to the lemon butter. Mix thoroughly and cook till the sauce is slightly thick. Add the chives.

Pour the warm sauce over the fish and serve immediately.