Doi Maach

I was in wonder when one of my friends asked for the Doi Maach recipe and I didn't find it in my blog. Being a Bengali Food Blogger if I have not posted on Doi Maach that will be an utter shame for me. For the true blue Bengalis Doi Maach or Fish cooked in yoghurt sauce is one of the most famous Bengali fish curries that can be served at any occasion. Say it a Marriage ceremony or some special occasion at home or just a lazy afternoon lunch the Doi Maach on the plate in enough to cheer one up. Doi Maach is also considered as one of the traditional Bengali fish dishes. I don't know from where it originally derived or what the authentic recipe to cook Doi Maach is. But what I have learnt from my Grandmother and mother hold the true genuineness to me. It is quite easy to cook and taste wise it will never fail you if you cooked it properly. The main key to make the dish successful is to keep the balance between the sweetness and the tanginess of the dish. Therefore if you’re a cooking this dish for the first time then start with adding less yoghurt than the given measurement.

At my home Doi Maach is always welcome whenever I enter in the kitchen and I have to cook a fish dish. The Family's first request will be to cook Doi Maach. So on this auspicious day of Holi, I cooked Doi Maach and Sweet Polao/Pulav (another Bengali traditional rice dish, get the recipe HERE). The exotic way Doi Maach pairs with Polao, it doesn't gibe with any other dish. Till yesterday my daughter was never a Polao lover. So every time whenever I cooked polao, I had to cook white rice separately for her. Today I thought of making the white rice then didn't give the thought any chance. And to my wonder the lil one liked it so much that she demanded again to cook at night for dinner. She is always a Doi Maach lover. So I know when Doi Maach is served she doesn't need anything else. But I was quite in dilemma whether, like the past, this time too she is going too reject the Polao. But no, she loved it and she awarded me as the best cook of the world. What was the Man's feedback I totally forgot to ask as I had gone entirely out of the world tapping my feet with the happy dance that my lil one liked it so much. 

I can still remember when I first returned from USA, the first six months were the most awful time for me. My lil one used to reject every bite of her food. And I used spent my whole day making the dishes what would enrich her taste bud. But yes patience always shines bright. Now she is the one who decides the menu and loves to savour new dishes. So the recent scenario is like this, when I cook a dish If the lil one approves it I find that I get the true reward.

Now let’s move to the recipe:

Ingredients:

Rohu/rui Fish - 6 blocks (medium)(can use Katla too)

Onion paste -out of 1 large

Yoghurt/curd- 3 table spoons

Turmeric Powder:  2/3 tspn and more

Cumin Powder:  2/3 tspn

Coriander Powder:  2/3 tspn

Red Chili Powder:  1/3 tspn

Whole Garam Masala- 1-2 (Cloves, Cardamom, Cinnamon)

Ginger Paste- 1 tspn

Sugar- 2 tspn or more (aprx)

Salt - as per taste

Potato- 1 medium (optional)

Mustard oil- Enough to fry the fish blocks.

Ghee- A drop or so

Method:

1. Heat oil in a Kadai/ deep dense pan. Take enough oil so that you can fry the fish. Add a little bit of turmeric powder and salt to fish. Put evenly all over them. Let the oil start to leave the smoke. Add the fish 2 at a time (If the pan is big enough then add according to the space limit) and fry till they turn semi brown. Drain the excess oil and reserve.

2. Take a bowl. Add the yoghurt and all the dry ingredients (Turmeric, cumin, coriander, red chili powder, ginger paste, salt and sugar). Mix it very well so that no lump is visible.

3. Take out the excess oil from the Kadai/pan, leaving behind approximately 2-3 tbspns of oil. Heat the oil and add the garam masala.  When it will start to splatter add the onion paste.  Keep the onion fry till it gets a brown colour and starts to separate oil. Add the yoghurt mixture.  Keep on stirring unless the juice is totally dry up and we get a thick mixture. Add 1- 1 1/2 cups of water. Stir nicely. Let the water gets boil add the fish. Taste the gravy. If salt is needed add salt. If it tastes too tangy then ad sugar. The taste would be a proper balance of sweet and tangy. Don't dry up much because the fish tends to soak the juice after the dish cools down. Add ghee and serve hot with rice or pulao.

Note:

Potato is usually not used in Doi Maach. But I added it as the lil one needs a piece of potato at her each bite. So if you have similar potato lover at home then you surely add Potato in Doi Maach.

Cut the potato length wise and fry it. When the yoghurt gets dry up (go the Method part point no: 3) then add the potato. Then the water. When the potatoes are semi done then add the fish.