The Captain's Diary

Passport & Plate - THE PHISH STORY

India | Thursday, March 13, 2014 | 5 photos

Ingredients
The Phish Story
Mustard Fish Curry : Bengali Dish ( India) as learnt by me.

Fresh Water fish : Catla (fresh water fish) (Indian carp) - I kg Cleaned, dressed and cut into pieces from the market.

Mustard paste: yellow and brown - 50:50 ratio 2 tbsp

Green chillies -2 to 3 (I like spicy food)

Mustard oil: 4-5 tbsp (can use other oil also but use at least a part of mustard oil for the flavour)+1/2 tsp more if you want to drizzle at a later stage to intensify the flavour

Salt

For tempering:
1 big Onion cut into small chunks
Nigella seeds: 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves small bunch chopped into fine pieces

Accompanied by :
Music, Crisp White wine, Mood Lighting and lovely company of friends or oneself.

 

How to prepare this recipe
1. I wash the fish which had come dressed from the market.
Rubbed turmeric and salt over them and left it to marinate for 10minutes.
2.I am a bit calorie concious so I use a non stcik pan and pan-fry the fish until they are crispy and little brown from both sides. I have dicosvered that the non stick at a slow simmer plays the trick. I get some crispy fish fry too. I take out two to three and eat as a starter with my white wine.

3. In the mean time I prepared a paste of mustard with a pinch of salt in the grinder. Two things to be noticed, for a grinder please dont use too much of water as it the seeds are round and wouldnt get crushed. Also, adding salt prevents the mustard from a bitter taste.Once done, I dissolved the mustard paste in a 1cup of water.
4. In a kadahi /wok I added the mustard oil. Let it reach its smoking point and lower the flame. Added the green chillies and nigella seeds( rubbed the nigella on my palm to release maximum flavour before adding to oil). Fried it briefly till they started to splutter. Added chopped onions and coriander leaves and sautéed till the onions were translucent.

5.Once sauteed, added the musatrd paste which has been dissolved in water. Once they come to a boil I gently added the fried fish a. I have read in a bengali blog that one should add warm water for a creamy gravy. So, added 2 cups of warm water and the final round of salt . Checked the seasonings and let it come to a boil. After that covered it and let it simmer for 10minutes on a low flame till the fish pieces absorb the flavour and sauce thickens a bit. At times, I let it be runny as it can be served in a stew like fashion.
I like to drizzle some mustard oil just before I switch off the flame to deepen the pungent flavour.

Served it hot with steamed rice on a banana leaf.

 

The story behind this recipe
Mustard curry fish is one of my favourites and makes me yearn for my daddy .Now i am able to make a sumptuous variation of the same meal for my dad when he visits me. My mom doesn’t eat fish too much but she is demanding on her everyday menu from me which is quite cute.
Actually, mustard is very famous as the basic ingredient in three states of India: West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. We use in plenty mustard seeds both yellow and brown and also mustard oil. We love the pungency of mustard oil. I have fallen in love with bengali cuisine and my treasure hunt is still on. Also, the bengali cuisine is well documented on net and gives me a detailed access to understand the processes. I can’t cook until i understand the basics processes and its genesis.
Bihar and Bengal are neighbouring states but the way MUSTARD is used in the fish preparation is actually dramatically different.
a. Biharis use only yellow mustard, grind it and saute it in sim for a long time and use loads of garlic.
b. Bengalis use yellow and brown mustard, grind it and dissolve it in water and simply put it in the curry.
Here in Mumbai, I am the official cook for my friends who come home with fish and mustard and asks me to cook for them .The fresh water fish is not readily available here as Mumbai is a coastal area. So, its an instruction for anyone who wants to eat they need to cater for the fish from few designated market.
I love both cooking and eating it too.

Current status:
There is a small little eating joint by the name Calcutta Club here where the mustard curry fish (sharshon macher jhaal ) is awesomely trippy. They never share their style and damn secretive about it.

Well, I keep going back to the same place trying to decipher exactly their style and I am still on with it…..