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

Rui fish in a spicy tomato and onion sauce

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of rui steaks
• 2 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paanch phoron
• One large onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2-3 green chilis, slit lengthwise
• 3 tablespoons of cooking oil
• One 8 oz can of chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup water

Steps

1. Pat the steaks dry and rub them down with the 1/2 tsp of turmeric, red chilli powder and salt.
2. In a cooking pot, heat the oil over medium high heat
3. When hot, fry the fish steaks until lightly brown
4. Remove the fish from the pot and set aside
5. Add the paanch phoron to the oil and stir
6. As soonn as the paanch phoron starts to splutter, add in the onions, garlic and green chilis
7. Stir and fry until the onions turn slightly brown
8. Add in the remaining turmeric and red chili powder and fry for an additional 3-4 minutes
9. Add the tomatoes and fry for 5-7 minutes until soft
10. Add the cumin powder and fry for another 2-3 minutes
11. Turn heat down to medium
12. Using a spoon make room in the middle of the dish for the fish steaks by moving the tomato and onion mixture to the edge of the pot
13. Gently put the fried fish steaks back into the pot
14. Spoon over the fish some of the tomato and onion mixture from the side
15. Add in the water and cook covered for an additional 20 minutes
16. Serve over white rice