Rui Maccher Jhaal Kalia - Spicy Fish Kalia

Ingredients

• 2 lb fish, cut into 3/4 inch steaks
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/2 inch ginger, finely chopped
• 4 green chili, slit down the middle
• 3 tbsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cooking oil, preferable mustard oil
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 1 tsp sugar (optional)

Steps

1. Marinate the fish with 1 tsp turmeric and 1 tsp of salt and set aside
2. Heat the oil in a heavy pan over high heat
3. Fry the fish until golden brown (do note that the oil must be very hot or else the fish will stick to the pan). Set aside the fish
4. Trun down the heat to medium, and in the same pan, add the cumin seeds and bay leaf until it seeds start to splutter
5. Add the onion, garlic, and green chili and stir fry until the onions start to caramelize
6. Add the remainder of the spices along with 1/4 cup of water and fry the spices until most of the water evaporates
7. Add in the yogurt and stir fry until it starts to stick to the pan
8. Add the fish steaks turning them over so that both sides have a liberal coating of the spices
9. Add 2 cups of water and bring to boil
10. Sprinkle in the rest of the salt and the optional sugar (check for seasoning and add additional salt if ncessary)
11. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes until the gravy thickens

You can substitute any large fish for rui and add vegetables like eggplant, cauliflower and peas instead of the potato wedges I used in this recipe.

Rui Maccher Jhol

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of Rui steaks
• 4-5 medium potatoes
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 4-6 cloves
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ginger paste
• 2 tsp garlic paste (or 2 cloves, finely chopped garlic)
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2-3 green chillies
• 3 tbsp oil for the fish
• 1 tsp garam masalla
• Enough oil to deep fry the potatoes

Steps

1. Marinate the fish steaks with 1 tsp each of turmeric and salt and set aside
2. Cut the potatoes into thin, about 1/2 to 1 inch, wedges
3. Deep fry the potatoes until golden brown and set aside
4. In a frying pan, heat the the 3 tbsp of oil over medium to medium high heat
5. Fry the fish steaks until golden and then set aside
6. In the same pan, add the onion, garlic, ginger and cloves
7. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring often making sure you scrape off any bits of fish stuck to the bottom of the pan
8. Add in 1-2 cups of water and bring to  boil covered (the amount of water will depend on how much jhol you want)
9. Carefully add the fried fish steaks, potato wedges and rest of the salt and cook covered until the gravy has thickened
10. Sprinkle the garam masalla and turn off the heat

Shorshe Ilish - Hilsa in mustard sauce

Ingredients

• 1 Ilish (Hilsha) fish, cut into steaks
• 1 tablespoon mustard (or ground mustard paste)
• 6 green chilis
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons oil, mustard oil preferred
• Salt to taste

Steps

• Rub some salt and turmeric on the fish steaks and set aside
• If you use whole mustard seeds, ground them into a paste along with the green chili and a tablespoon of water
• Heat the oil in a flat bottomed pan
• Saute the onions until light brown
• Add the mustard/chili paste and rest of the spices and striy fry 2-3 minutes
• Add 1/2 cup of water, making sure you scrape any spices that are stuck to the bottom of the pan
• Add the fish steak and cook covered over medium heat for about 10-minutes
• Flip over the fish and cook covered another 5 minutes until excess water has evaporated
• Check for salt and sprinkle additional salt if necessary

Korma has its roots in the Mughal cuisine of the Indian subcontinent. It is a characteristic Persian-Indian dish which can be traced back to the 16th century

Classically, a korma is defined as a dish where meat or vegetables are braised with water, stock, yogurt or cream.

Korma

Ingredients

• Fish 1 kg
• Yogurt 1/2 cup
• Onion paste 1/2 cup
• Ginger paste 2 tsp
• Garlic paste 1 tsp
• Coriander paste 1 tbsp
• Cardamom 6
• Cinnamon, 1″    2 pieces
• Salt 2 tsp
• Ghee (oil) 3/4 cup
• Green chill 6
• Kewra  2 tbsp
• Sugar 1 tbsp
• Lemon juice 1 tbsp

Steps

1. Use large fish for korma. Do not cut the fish into too small pieces.
2. Except for the green chillis and kewra, add all the rest of stuff into the cooking dish. Mix well. Heat covered in low heat. Turn over the fish once (be careful). When the water has almost dried up, add the green chilli and the kewra heat for another half hour in very low heat.
3. When the oil begins to float on top, you are done.

Comments

Carp is great for Korma. For health reasons (carp being a scavenger fish), most chain grocery stores do not sell carps. But it is quite available in most oriental grocery stores. The carp is the US counterpart of Bangladesh’s Ruhi/Rui. You can also try buffalo which resembles Katla.

This is a very traditional Bangladeshi fish recipe.

Ingredients

• Fish (preferably small, cut into small pieces) 1 cup
• Sliced onions: 1/2 cups
• Red chili powder/paste (red) 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder/paste 1 tsp
• Onion paste 2 tbsp
• Ginger paste 1/8 tsp
• Black Pepper paste 1/4 tsp
• Shredded dhania leaves (cilantro) personal taste
• Scallions/Onion leaves 2 tbsp
• Oil 1/3 cup
• Salt 1 tsp
• Tomato 2 medium

Procedure

1. Works best with small fish. Out here in the land of non- Bangladeshi fish, try shrimp or any fresh-water fish cut into very small pieces.
2. After heating the oil add all the powder/paste spices and fry for a couple of minutes. You might add a little bit of water if you are using powders only. Make sure you don’t burn the spices. (Include the onion pastes)
3. Add the shredded onions and the fish. Add 1/2 cup of water and the salt. Cover the dish and medium-hi heat.
4. When the water has almost evaporated, add tomatoes, cilantero, and the onion leaves. Heat under low-medium heat till the oil starts to float.
5. You are done, now eat.

Comments

Among the fishes available in a typical grocery store, catfish is best suited for Do-peAjA. Shrimp is great too.