Narkol Posto Rui (Rohu fish with coconut and poppyseeds)

Quick post with a quick recipe. I love coconut so as anything out of Posto/poppy seeds. I was never a kind of fish lover. But as you grow old your taste buds change too. Now I love eating fish more than any-other non veg items at the same time love trying different kind of fish recipes. This one I made in a hurry but it really came out well. Do try it and let me know how much you liked it.

Ingredients:

Rohu Fish blocks - 5pcs

Poppy Seed - 2 tblsn

Coconut (Scrapped/grated) - 1 cup

Potato - 1 small cut in cubes (optional)

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tspn

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tspn + 1/4 tspn

Salt & Sugar as per taste

Green Chillies - 2- 3

Mustard oil - To fry the fish

Method:

1. Rub 1/2 tspn turmeric and salt to the fish blocks.

2.  Paste the poppy seed and coconut in a smooth paste. You can green chilli to the paste too to enhance the taste more.

3. Heat oil in a Kadai. Fry the fish till it turns light brown. 

4. After taking off all the fish from the kadai, make sure there is only 3/4 tbspn oil is remaining. If you have more in the Kadai then take out the excess oil. If adding potot then you can fry the potota with that excess oil.

5. Add mustard seed in the remaining oil. then the potatoes if adding. fry for a couple of minutes. Then add the poppyeed paste. Add the remianing 1/4 tspn turmeric powder. Stir well for a while (2-3 minutes). Add water (1 cup - See notes). Bring in to boil then add the fish. Add salt and sugar as per taste. Once the pototo is boiled, take it off the gas. Add green chilies and serve with hot rice.

Notes:

1. If you are not adding potato then add 1/2 cup or more water just for cooking the fish and the gravy consistency you want. 

2. You can add curry leaves and coriendar leaves too to enhance the taste more.

Macher Dimer Bora or Fish Roe Fritter

I have never thought that I will document the pure Bengali dishes in my blog. Yes, it must sound weird, as being a Bengali how come one can utter those words so easily! But to be honest, I was never a Bengali food lover. Mainly fish was not in my favourite list except Hilsa and Prawns. My taste bud always forced me to love the continental style of cooking. But once you become a mother you become aware of all the tiny little things. I became more aware to teach my daughters the root of our culture and found food is one of the most interesting contributions of it. I wanted my children to know their culture well and loved the way our each Bengali dish interweaves the memories and the stories trailing to us from our great great grandmothers. I love the way the authentic traditional recipes float to us without any change and give us the identity of who we are by birth, by food, and by culture. What was my outlook or my food habit that got lessened because maturity makes us to understand, that unless you know your root well you will be standing in a no man's land. I understood why my Father relocated back in India with us, leaving behind a promising job and a comfortable life. My father is a strong puritan when it comes to his culture and motherland. He wanted his daughters to grow as an educated lady bearing their Bengali culture as their ornaments. I am not sure how much I was able to bear it through to fulfil his dreams, but now the same dream I have woven for my daughters too. I keep on documenting the traditional household Bengali recipes for my daughters, so that when they will grow up they will not miss them out. I also realised that there are so many traditional recipes got lost with the people whom I missed so much to stay in this world alive and help me out in documenting those with the stories related to it. I miss the memories of my grandmother how she used to make each dishes so skillfully, tasty that was also using the less ingredients that a recipe calls for. I missed my Elder Mashi (Maternal Aunty, whom I used call Mamoni). She was a brilliant cook and till her death I saw her using homemade masalas made by her own. I never thought of documenting those when she was alive. But now I realised what treasure she has taken with her and what I missed.

Macher Dimer Bora or Fish roe fritter is something that is one of the most common dishes of any Bengali household cooking. My MIL makes a sumptuous curry out of it. Please check the note for the recipe. I thought of documenting this recipe for the fiture reference for my kids.

Ingredients:

Machher Dim or Fish roe: 100gm (Rohu /Katla)

Onion finely chopped - 1 small

Ginger finely chopped / paste - 1/2 tspn

Coriander Leaves finely chopped - 2 tspn

Turmeric powder- a pinch

Flour - 1 - 2 tbspn (More or less - As per requirement)

Green Chili finely chopped - 1 (More or less - as per your taste)

Salt and pepper as per taste.

Mustard Oil - As much needed for deep frying

Method:

1. In a bowl mix all the ingredients except the flour and mix nicely. 

2. Heat enough oil for deep frying in a Kodai. Make sure the oil should be piping hot.

3. Slowly mix the flour in small amount unless it is ready to hold for frying. To test it, take a tiny portion from it and put it in the hot oil. If it is floating then it is ready.

4. Now take small portions from the dough giving a roll in shapes of a ball by your one hand only and then put it in the piping hot oil. In the medium flame keep on frying unless the fritters turn brown. Serve hot with Rice and Dal.

Note:

1. You can add chopped spring onion, a pinch of cumin and coriander powder to make it more tasty.

2. My MIL often makes a curry out of it. Just adding ginger paste and chopped tomato in little oil. When the tomato is well blended she adds a paste of cumin, turmeric, coriander and red chili powder. If one wants potato cane be added too. Then she adds water and it comes to boil the fritters are added. She adds salt to taste and a some whole chilies. That's all.

Lau diye machher matha (Fish head with Bottle gourd)

I was a fussy eater and completely made my mother's life miserable with my crabby food habit. Every day I would want some tasty and new dishes (Read -the options were though very less). Most of the healthy fortified foods were exscinded from my comestible list. But there were two fixings that my mother used to apply as her weapons to tame down my choices. Those were coconut and fish head. I used to eat anything that was cooked with coconut or fish head. So my mum used to feed me green leafy vegetables, Bottle gourd, pumpkin or mixed vegetables cooked with fish head. Or papaya, raw banana, ladies finger etc cooked with coconut. Thinking of - my mum is a magician who can make any dish sumptuous, I didn't realise then that these were the common Bengali household recipes. You must have understood that I used to dislike all the above-mentioned vegetables. But the fish head or the coconut used to work as the catalyst for me to make the dish edible and of course, tasty to me. In this respect, my daughter is showing some of the reflections of her mother. Though I must appreciate, she is much better than me as she hardly makes her mama's life miserable. But she does have some restricted food habits hidden in her mind too.
                           After becoming a mother and a Food Blogger, my mindset towards food got changed. The anxious mum started to understand the value of healthy food in our life and the curious and creative soul started experimenting different dishes from different cuisines. My sole concentration turned to provide the proper diet that should supply soundly nourishment to my girls. I often travel back to the memory line and envision the stubborn little girl throwing tantrums to the food was served to her and the mother trying her best to plead her. I feel sorry at times realising the trouble I caused to my mother. It was so well said that ' food escorts us back in time and shapes our memory'. With this Lau diye machher matha I had a fond memory attached to it. This  is one such dish that my mother used to cook for me and I happily used to devour it without any second thought. Same as for my daughter she likes it very much and every time demands to make it often. Maturity making me inclined more towards cooking Bengali dishes, and to experience the root more significantly. I realised that food typifies everything that is different about another culture and gives the most authentic insight into how people live. Ask a Fish lover Bengali like us who will answer back that except scales and the bones we eat almost the whole fish. Now let us move to the dish and enjoy:

Ingredients:

Lau or Bottle gourd - 1 medium size

Fish Head - 1 big ( Rohu or Katla) {See note 1}

Ginger paste - 1 tspn

Tomato - 1 small

Fenugreek Seed - 1/2 tspn

Turmeric Powder - 1/2tspn + 1/2 tspn

Cumin Powder - 1/2 tspn

Coriander Powder - 1/2 tspn

Red Chilli Powder - As per taste

Mustard Oil - 2 tbspn + whatever needed

Green Chilli as per taste

Ghee - few drops

Salt & Sugar As per taste

Method:

1. Skin the Bottle gourd. Roughly chop the Lau or Bottle gourd into small pieces. Keep aside.

2. Add 1/2 tspn Turmeric powder and salt to taste to the fish head. Rub thoroughly.

3. Heat 2 tbspn oil in  a Kadai or deep dense pan. Add the fish head and fry both sides till it turns brown. Take out from the fish head from the Kadai leaving behind the excess oil.

4. Now if you have enough oil (approx 1 tbspn) then no need to add more oil. If required then please add more. Heat the oil and then add the fenugreek seeds.

5. Soon after add the chopped lau and cook for 5 minutes on high flame. Add chopped tomato. Cover it up and cook for 5 to 6 minutes on high flame.

6. The bottle gourd tends to leave a lot of juice (See Note). Take the lid off. Add all the other spices (Not the green chillies and ghee) including  the fish head. Mix nicely and keep on cooking until the juice gets completely evaporated. Keep on stirring in intervals breaking the fish head into as many small pieces as you can with the ladle.

7. The dish will look done when the lau or the Bottle gourd is soft and tender, the juice is totally dried up and the dish is coming out clean from the Kadai. Add ghee and green chillies and serve hot with rice.

Note:

1. When you wil buy the fish head, tell the seller to cut in to small pieces. It will be easier for you to cook. 

2. The bottle gourd tends to leave a lot of juice. So always be cautious not to turn the dish soggy. Keep on controlling the levels of the flame.

Adaa BaNga (Eggplant with Hilsha Fish Head)

Treasures are those traditional recipes which flowed directly from generation to generation. Each family prizes the honour of such handful of recipes, so do I.  Today I blog on food, I experiment dishes using various spices, sauces every day the hyper marts luring to us. But whatever it is or how may fancy dishes I cook, nothing can beat the taste of the dishes that I have tasted/learnt from my mother or grandmother or great grandmother. The usage of fewer spices was always the key ingredient at my grandmother’s house and the must usage of the freshly ground homemade spices. For me my maternal Grandmother, my Aunt who is much older than my mom and my mom are actually the culinary goddesses from whom I have learnt to cook pure Bengali dishes with the minimum ingredients. I have also learnt to enhance the taste by adding a dash of pure ghee in the dishes just before taking them off the flame.  What is an authentic dish or what is the originality of the recipe, these are very controversial concept to me. Some dishes evolved somewhere then by twists and turns these have reached to our hands. Some have some documents some have not. But what exactly traditionally known to us are the recipes that we have learnt from our ancestors. 

Aada BhaNga is one such dish that I have solely learnt from my mom's family and at the same time I also consider it as one of the signature dishes among the other inherited Bengali traditional recipes. My parents and their family originally are from East Bengal now known as Bangladesh. My grandmother was the daughter of the Sushong Rajbari, Bangladesh which was considered as to be the staunch Brahmin family. In their cooking there was never been any usage of garlic, onion and chicken.  Only the red meat, that was also after offering to the god, was allowed to the kitchen. The meat used to be cooked without garlic and onion and the cooking style is/was widely known as Veg- meat curry. Coming to the Aada Bhanga recipe, I have seen this dish only cooked with the Ilish/ Hilsa head with the Brinjal/Eggplant at our home. But in Rajshahi. Bangladesh it is quite famously cooked with the Aar/Artamim/Sperata aor Fish blocks but the Brinjal and ginger are the common ingredients. In West Bengal this dish is also known as Tottora.   So there must be many names, many ways to cook a dish. But here I will share the way how I have learnt from my grandmother and how I cook at my home. As the name suggests, Aada means Ginger and BaNga means to break.  In this dish the main ingredients are the ample use of the ginger paste, Ilish/Hilsa fish head and brinjal/eggplant, where the incorporation of all enhance the taste and elevate the aroma. So here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Brinjal/Eggplant-  2 medium size

Ilish/Hilsa fish head - 1 medium (cut in to four halves)

Mustard Seed- 1/4 tea spoon

Ginger Paste- 1 table spoon heaped

Turmeric Powder- 1/8 tea spoon + 1/4 tea spoon

Salt as per taste

Green Chilli- 2-3 (more or less)

Mustard oil- 2 table spoons (+ 1 table spoon if required)

Method:

1. Cut the Brinjal length wise one 3 inches long and 1 inch thick. Reserve.
2. Rub the Ilish/Hilsa head with 1/8 tea spoon turmeric powder and salt.
3. Heat oil in a Kadai/ Pan. The oil should be heated properly.
4. Fry the both side of the Ilish/Hilsa head pieces till they turn semi brown.
5. If there is enough oil remaining then don't add extra oil. Add extra oil only if needed.
6. Add mustard seed and let them sputter. Add the Brinjal pieces and fold nicely along with the oil and the mustard seed. Keep on frying for couple of minutes and then cover it with a lid. And cook for 3-4 mints in a low flame.
7. Take off the lid. Add salt and the turmeric powder, fold nicely so that each piece of brinjal gets seasoned. Again cover it with the lid and cook for 3-4 mnts.
8. Take off the lid and add the Ilish/Hilsa Fish head pieces and break them in more small pieces with a turner. Along with the brinjal pieces too.
9.  The Birnjal will keep on getting soft and with the turner  keep on stirring and folding all together nicely.
10. As much dry you will make it the taste will enrich more. So keep on sautéing the stuff till it starts to leave a frying smell. Add the ginger paste and sauté nicely for 3- 4 mints. Let the aroma of the ginger spread with the frying smell of the brinjal and hilsa head.
11. Add green chillies and then serve hot with white rice. 

Fish Chops / Fish Croquettes

Time really runs fast. I can still remember the day when five Food Bloggers from Kolkata started this new adventure to achieve a dream to create a Food Bloggers' society in Kolkata. And now only 4 days are left to celebrate the First Birthday of Kolkata Food Bloggers aka KFB. With lot of twist and turns now we have come to this podium where we, the KFBians so much enjoy each other’s company, the internal-external activities, the Table meets, the events et al. Within this short span of time KFBians got a chance to work as a co-organizer of the Nutrifest of the KPC Medical College. The KFBians did four video shoots for a documentary which went to the 19th Kolkata International Film Festival last year. The team KFB started taking invited review programs and sampling food fests and so on and so forth...

We hope to achieve many more milestones by the KFB group. Wish us good luck so that we can keep on cooking, clicking, sharing and learning many more things and achieve those which we really lack. Here I Invite all my Food Blogger Friends to celebrate the KFB birthday with us. Keep following us and pour your love for us.

This Fish Chops/ Fish Croquettes I have once made for the first KFB Potluck Party. Everybody liked it. But I was pretty tensed about the reaction of the KFBians as this time I was going to face all the expert cooks from Kolkata. But I did a happy dance when everyone praised it whole heartedly. During my USA stay this one was one of my signature dishes for each party. So today I can't think of any other Finger food (this is the birthday celebration theme of the week, that our Event Manager Sarani has decided) but the Fish Chops/ Fish Croquettes. So here is the recipe, hope you all will like it.

Ingredients:

Rohu Fish (Peti/ Belly part) Block- 6pcs

Potato- 3 medium

Turmeric Powder- 1/2 tea spn

Cumin Powder- 1 tea spn

Coriander Powder - 1 tea spn

Onion- 2 medium

Ginger paste- 3/4 tea spn

Tomato - 1 large

Salt & Sugar- According to taste

White Oil- 2 tbspn + Enough to Fry the Fish Chops/croquettes.

For the crust:

Flour- 1 tb spn

Water- 3/4 cup

Roasted Biscuit crust- 2  cups (more or less- I always keep 1 extra cup handy)

Method:

1. Boil the Fish with a pinch of Turmeric Powder and salt for 15 to 20mnts. Strain and bone the fish very carefully so that not a single piece leaves and also remove the fat/skin of the fish.
2. Boiled the potatoes. Strain the water and reserve.
3. Now add and mash all the dry ingredients/ Masala, Salt nicely with fish and Potato. Make nice dough.
4. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan. Add the onion. Fry till it turns brown. Add chopped tomatoes and Ginger paste. Keep on frying till the Tomatoes separate the oil.
5. Add the fish mixture to it. Fold nicely and keep on Sautéing till the mixture starts to leave a fried aroma and looks like a very dry dough. (Don't forget to check the taste to add more salt or not)
6. Cool it. Grease your hand with oil. Start shaping the chops/Croquettes a good shape.
7. Now add the flour and water. Make a nice mixture out of it. Take a plate and spread the Biscuit crumbs.
8. Take one croquette. Dip in the Flour mixture and then roll on the crumbs. Again dip in the flour mixture and then roll on the crumbs. Doing it two to three times gives a very crusty bite after it gets fired.
9. When all the croquettes are ready to fry just keep them in the freezer for an hour or so.
10. Then deep fry them till they turn brown and serve them with sauce or desired dips. Don't forget to absorb the excess oil for the Croquettes by using a tissue paper.

Note:

1. To make this croquettes you can use Katla/ Basa or Bhetki fish.

2. Usually 2 normal size Fish block + 1 medium Potato yield 3 croquettes (of course - depends on the size).

3. You can store it (Non-fried one ) in the freezer for a week and just take it out and fry whenever you want to have it.

Rui Posto with Indrani Dhar (Kolkata Food Blogger)

We know each other I think from last 4 years. Through our blogs we became fellow bloggers and then fast friends. And after settling down to Kolkata and having her one of the most important and responsible members of Kolkata Food Bloggers, she has become an inseparable part of our life. Yes the star of this and our last week's ""Know your Kolkata Food Blogger Friend" event is, none other than the eminent and one of the popular bloggers of Indian, Indrani Dhar. A mom of three kids, leads a very busy life but how passionate she is towards cooking, her blog is the perfect example of it. Her blog, Recipe Junction is a treasure trove collection of almost all cuisines.  Her stay in various countries for last 14 years reflects the variety of dishes she cooks and shares through her blog. The best quality of her I,s one can trust on her blindly and she knows very well what a responsibility is called.  Kolkata Food Bloggers is so proud to have one such member in its group. And I feel so proud to be associated with her as a friend and fellow blogger. There is so many things to learn from her and she is always here for us whenever we need her. She always stands for justice and has the courage to raise fair voice whenever its needed. A true gem and simple person by heart, she is Indrani.

Today I have picked up one of the most favourite recipes of our house that my mom cooks. Rui Posto/ Rohu Fish with Poppy Seed (Click to see Indrani's recipe), I found it in Indrani's blog. She cooked it in a very different way and sounds very delicious. She has added onion and tomatos. But I preferred to cook it in more simple way how my mom cooks. I cooked Cauliflower Posto almost same way as Indrani cooked that will be posted in the blog very soon. Now let us have a look on my dish of Rui Posto/Rohu Fish with Poppy Seeds.

Ingredients:

Rui/Rohu Fish - 4 blocks

Poppy Seed - 1/2 cup

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tspn

Mustard oil - To fry the fish + 1 tbspn + 1 tspn

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tspn + 1/4 tspn

Salt to taste

Green Chilli - 2 - 3

Method:-

1.  Rub the fish with 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder and salt.
2. Heat the Mustard Oil in Kodai/Pan. Be sure that the oil should reach a high temperature.  Add the fish slowly so that the oil should not sputter and burn your hand. Let the fish turn semi brown and then take our from the oil by letting go the excess oil. Reserve.
3. Paste the Poppy seeds in a smooth paste.
4. Heat 1tbspn oil in the Kadai. Add mustard seeds. Let them sputter. Add the poppy seed paste and 1/4 cup water, 1/4 tspn turmeric powder and keep on stirring. Add the remaining water and let it come to boil. Add the fish. Cook for a minute and then taste how much salt to add.
5. Cook for 3-4 mnts. Pls check how much gravy you want to keep. If more water needed then add. If you want a dry texture then cook until the gravy gets thicken.
6. Add green chilies and Ghee. Drizzle few drops of mustard oil (1 tspn) and serve with hot rice.

Note:

1. You can add Onion and Tomatoes also.

2. Many times we also use a bit mustard paste to enhance the taste.

Chilli Fish And Chilli Mutton with Sarani Tarafdar (Kolkata Food Blogger)

Another week of "Know your Kolkata Food Bloggers Friend" event, another week to introduced one of our blogger friends. This time whom I am going to introduce,  is one of my favourite and very close ones. We know each other for almost 2 years I guess but only as a fellow blogger. It has only happened when she returned back to Kolkata and joined our group  9 months back and in a wink she became so close to me/us. Sarani Tarafdar who blogs form Cocoawind, is one of the glamorous, gorgeous and beautiful ladies of our group. She will always be found with a heart melting smile at whatever situation she may be. She is one of the most dedicated members of the group who first thinks for her group than anything else. For instance, we had a video shoot and without her it would not be possible. Just on that very day her son got high fever. But she did come managing all her household problems and fulfilled her commitment towards her group. She is that kind of a lady who knows what a promise and commitment called. She is one of the most reliable ladies whom you can trust blindly. As much as I love her, I respect her more. An ex banker and a guest faculty of KPC Medical College by profession, she is also a cinematographer, a photographer and a great writer.

Her blog is new but already you will find some delectable recipes. Today I have chosen from her blog one of the most common recipes  - Chilli Chicken. Chilli chicken is one of the famous Indo-Chinese dishes. I have made Chilli Fish and Chilli Mutton instead. So here I am giving the recipe of Chilli Fish and more or less the same way I cooked Chilli Mutton too.

Ingredients:

Fish Fillet (Basa/ Bhetki) -  250-300gm (Cubed)

Onion - 1 big diced

Chopped Garlic - 1 tsp

Ginger paste - 1/2 tspn

Capsicum - 1 big diced (I used some coloured one too)

Flour - enough to coat the chicken cubes

Cornflour - 1 tsp to make gravy

Soy sauce - 2 tbsp + 1 tbspn

Vinegar - 1 tbsp

Chilli Sauce - 1 tsp + 1 tspn

Tomato Sauce - 1 tbsp + 1spn

Salt to taste

Green Chili - I didn't add

Oil - enough to fry the chicken cubes

Method:-

1. Marinate the fish cubes  for 30 mnts with the first portion of Soy sauce, chilli sauce , vinegar and tomato sauce and salt.
2. Add Flour to it in small amount slowly to coat each cube nicely.
3. Heat enough oil in a pan/kodai and fry the fish cubes 4-5 cubes at a time till they are brown and crisp.
4. Strain out the fries from the oil and soak the excess oil from the fried fish cubes with a kitchen towel and reserve.
5. Heat a little amount of oil. Add the garlic. Let them turn brown. Add the onion cubes.
6. When the onion cubes will turn translucent add the ginger paste. Sauté for a while then add the capsicum. Fry for 2- 3 mnts.
7. Add  all the sauces and the fish fries and fold nicely. Add 1/2 cup water and bring it in to boil. If you need more gravy then you can add more water.
8. Dilute the corn flour in 2tsp water and add it slowly to the gravy. Don't forget to stir constantly. Cook for few more mnts and then serve.

Chilli Mutton
I made it with boneless mutton. First boiled the mutton and then marinated. Then did the same way I cooked the Chilli fish. Only the sauces had been given a bit more to enhance the  taste.

Baked Basa Pan Fried in Thai Style

Today I make it a quick post. After making this dish I have posted it on my Facebook page and have totally forgotten to blog on it. That is only then, when one of my readers put it on my notice that the recipe has not been shared yet. It feels really great when you have such readers who follow you with such minute details. I am one lucky soul to have such readers. So here is the recipe Baked Basa Pan Fried in Thai Style:

Ingredients:

Basa Fillet - 1 large

To marinate:

Thai Sweet Chilly Sauce - 2 tbspn

Light Soy Sauce - 2 tbspn

Ginger Garlic paste- 1 tbspn

lemon juice- 1tspn

Dry Lemon Grass- few sprigs

Salt and Sugar - as per taste 

For the Fry:

Mushroom (sliced) - 1 cup

Baby Corn (julienned) -  1/2 cup

Capsicum (sliced) - 1/2 cup

Garlic (chopped) - 1 tbspn

Ginger ((julienned)) - 1 tspn

Whole Dry Red Chilli - 2- 3 (Seeded and pieced)

Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce - 2 tbspn

Dark Soy Sauce - 1 tbspn

Salt and Sugar as per taste.

Olive Oil - 1 tbspn

Method:

1. Cube the Fillet as your required size. Make sure it should not be too small.
2. Marinade the cubes with all the ingredients under Marinate.
3. Take baking tray. Cover it with aluminum foil. Line the fillet cubes.
4. Bake each side each for 7 + 7 mnts.  And then grill for 5 mnts.
5. Take a nonstick pan. Heat oil. Add the chopped garlic and the Dry red chilli.
6. Let the Garlic turn brown add all the other veggies and sauté till then are semi cooked. And the sauces, salt and sugar.
7. Stir well in high flame. Add the fish cubes and very carefully fold them with the  veggies. Be very careful that the fish cubes should not get broken. Cook for a couple of minutes in high flame. Then serve with fried rice or noodles. 

Note:

1. If you don't want to bake then you can coat the marinated fish cubes in corn flour or flour and deep fry.

2. Basa is a very soft and fragile textured fish. so handle it care.

Rui Dumpukht

I have adapted this from Bong Mom's Cookbook, where she has adapted this recipe from Kaberi'sKitchen (The recipe link of this dish is not available,so just sharing her blog link). I so much admire Sandeepa , the brain and great cook behind this blog  Bong Mom's Cookbook. I personally am a big fan of her blog since I have started my journey in this blogosphere . Now I am always stuck with her recent published book- based on her blog, mainly for the wits and the intellectual humour deliverance she shares along with the mouth-watering recipes.  About this recipe she clearly stated that this dish is not the original one what exactly called a DUMPUKT dish. Originally a Dumpukht dish gets cooked in slow oven, mostly in sealed container. Therefore Rui Dumpukht recipe has become more modified and cooked in a way to ease the method in a more less time taking way.

A bit knowledge about DumPukht: 

"Dum means to ‘breathe in’ and pukht to 'cook'. Dum Pukht cooking uses a round, heavy – bottomed pot, a handi, in which food is tightly sealed and cooked over a slow fire. There are two main aspects to this style of cooking; bhunao and Dum, or ‘roasting’ and ‘maturing’ of a prepared dish. In this style of cuisine, herbs and spices play an extremely critical role. The process of slow roasting gently persuades each to release maximum flavor. And the sealing of the lid; the sealing of the lid of the handi with dough achieves maturing. Cooking slowly in its juices, the food retains all its natural aromas and becomes imbued with the richness of flavors that distinguishes the cuisines." (Source HERE)

Ingredients:

Rui/Rohu Fish - 3 steaks

Onion -  1 medium (Sliced)

Ginger Paste - 1 tspn

Green Chili - The recipe called for it but I didn't use any.

Cashew- 7-8

Bay Leaf  - 1

Whole Dry Red Chili - 1

Yogurt - 1 tbspn

Red Chilli Powder- 1/2 tspn

Turmeric- 1/2 tsp + 1/4 tspn

Garam Masala Powder-  2 pinches

Salt  and Sugar- As per taste

Mustard Oil - As per requirement (The recipe called for White Oil)

Water- 1 cup (More or less)

Method:

1. Rub the fish steaks with salt and turmeric (1/4 tspn) powder. Heat oil in a Kodai/Pan. Let the oil get heated properly and shallow fry the fish. (I fried the fish till brown and a bit crispy as that is how my family members like to taste fish)
2. Fry the sliced onions till brown. Cool it down and make a paste along with Ginger and Cashew (If you are using Green Chilli then pls add that too).
3. Smooth the yoghurt adding red chilli powder and the remaining turmeric powder.
4. Add very little bit of oil in the Kodai/pan. When it will become hot add the Bay leaf and whole Red Chilli.
5. Add the Onion paste along with a bit sugar. Sauté it nicely then add the yoghurt slowly and the make sure you are adding it in a low heat. Fold nicely all the masala. Add water slowly. Let it boil add the Fish steaks . Add salt. Cover the lid and cook for some time till the gravy starts to thicken. Add garam masala powder and cook for a minute. Enjoy with white rice. 

Note:
1. My onions get fried a bit therefore the colour of the dish got changed. 
2. The dish tends to taste a bit on the sweeter (but not that sweet) side so when you are using sugar pls keep that in mind.

This one is the fifth post of the Blogging Marathon Event of Kolkata Food Bloggers. The Bloggers participating in it:

1. Amrita - Vishal @ http://amritavishal127.blogspot.in/

2. Archita @ http://architashomecooking.blogspot.in/

3. Indrani @ http://riappyayan.blogspot.in/ 

4. Sayantani @ ahomemakersdiary.com