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Wednesday 7 January 2009

Thakumaar Maacher Jhaal (Bengali style chilli fish, Grandmom’s recipe)

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Poo nudged me yesterday to say this blog was slowly dying. Not as dramatic, but  yes,  she did say that she missed seeing newer posts.  I wonder if she ever ventured into trying out any of the featured recipes here.
I have been meaning to add some fun stuff to this space and go beyond recipes. But just don’t have enough time. Oh, who am I kidding? I have all the time in the world, have just been procrastinating. And before this post turns into a personal rant, here goes my favouritest fish recipe. This one originates from my paternal grandmom- she insisted my mum learnt this recipe and cooked it for her whenever she came visiting. now the recipe is handed down to me.
Ready?
we’ll need -
  • 3-5 medium pieces of  white fish- Rohu/katla/or any firm white fish fillet
  • 1 BIG tomato – grated (yes grated or pureed. tastes best when freshly pureed)
  • 11/2 tsp Jeera powder
  • 1 1/2tbsp – garlic –crushed (u need a little more than usual)
  • 1 –2 tsp red chilli powder – as per your taste
  • 1/2 tsp – Turmeric
  • salt to taste
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Coriander leaves for garnish
  • Oil- 4 tbsp

Method:
Rub, salt and turmeric to the fish and keep aside for 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix the tomato puree, garlic, jeera powder and salt. Mix it well and set aside.
In a pan heat oil, and shallow fry the fish. Take them out when they turn  light brown on both sides. Set aside .Do not fry it too crisp.
Add the tomato mixture to the remaining oil in the pan. on medium flame cook it, till oil separates. Add the  fried fish to this and coat the fish with the masala. Now add  water. Cover with lid and simmer for 5 minutes. Add chopped coriander. Serve with hot steamed rice.
Its a very very simple recipe, which can be made in parties too. I guarantee you at least 5 compliments when u serve this!
Hot tips: DO NOT add dhania powder and ginger. It changes the taste. For more masala, double the tomato puree , jeera and garlic.  Do not add too much water to the gravy. Follow this recipe to the t. :)

10 foodie comments:

Subarna said...

Wow.. am going to make this on Sunday.. yummy phish phish

Munia

phish phish said...

oooofff!! too maach! am salivating as I write. amar na ek thaala maachher jhaal diye bhaat khete ichhe korchhe...like right now! shudhu ekta kaancha lonka chai :)

The Ketchup Girl said...

@munia: did u try it?
@phis phish: tui amaar blog porish? :D. tor phishphish ta te kichu lekh, lazy bum.

Rhea said...

Hi,
For this particular recipe when you say freshly pureed tomato does it mean you need to grind the raw tomato into paste or is there any other method of making tomato puree?

The Ketchup Girl said...

edrea: you can use canned tomatoes as well. I tried it just yesterday and it was as good! Thanks for visiting :)

The Ketchup Girl said...

@edrea: oops, sorry, i forgot to answer your question in the first place! Yes, by fresh puree i meant pureeing fresh tomatoes in a blender. Though you can used fresh diced tomatoes or even canned ones!

Rhea said...

hanks so much for the prompt reply.I might try this recipe coming week.One more query pertaining to the same recipe.You've mentioned here that suppose we need more masala,we'll need to double the quantity of the mentioned ingredients,but won't too much of cumin powder give a bitter taste to the gravy? Also to let you know I tried your chilli garlic fish today and its came out really nice.But I used frozen fish for this,had i used fresh fish it would have tasted even better.Thanks for taking the trouble to post some amazing recipes.

The Ketchup Girl said...

edrea: glad to know you tried the chilly-garlic fish. :). well you are right- use about 2 and a half teaspoons jeera powder for about 1 kilo of fillet and a little more of garlic.

Rhea said...

Hi,
I tried this fish recipe of your's but the colour hasn't come like what it looks in the pic that you have put up.Mine has come out red in colour,dunno how it tastes though.That will let you know after we've had our lunch. :)

The Ketchup Girl said...

this picture was taken aeons back with a bad camera :). The colour is supossed to look red. That's the best case scenario :D. And I can't wait to hear the reviews. I'm nervous!