Doi Maachh .... Fish in Yogurt Gravy

Fresh Sweet water fish, minimum spices, awesome to eat....that's the perfect recipe for Doi Maachh, as cooked by my Ma. 

Having received Peti pieces (belly pieces which are buttery soft and oh so delicious) of Fresh Katla of 3 kg above size, I decided there and then that Doi Machh it will be,,,  

In this particular recipe of my Ma, the fish are not fried prior to dunking in the gravy, as is done in most Rui Katla preparations. The preparation is a blend of sweet and hot.

Ingredients :

Katla fish - 5 pieces (about 300 gms)

Curd - 1 medium sized bowl

Ginger paste - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1.5 tsp for marination + extra as required

Salt  -  2 tsp for marination + extra as required

Garlic Paste - 1 tsp

Tej Pata / Bay Leaf - 2

Whole Garam Masala - Cardamom, Cinnamon sticks, cloves 

Onion chopped - 1 medium sized

Onion paste - 1 medium sized

Oil (mustard / Rice bran) - 2 tbsp

Ghee - 1 tbspn + 1 tspn for garnishing

Kashmiri Mirch - 1 tspn

Red Chili Powder - 1 tspn

Coriander leaves - chopped ... for garnishing

Procedure :

1. Wash the fish .

2. For marination : Mix a bowl of curd + ginger paste+sugar+salt. 

3. Marinate the fish in this slurry for minimum 1/2 hour.

4. In a kadhai, heat a mix of Oil + Ghee.

5. Temper with Tej Pata and whole garam masala.

6. Now add the chopped onion and fry till pink. 

7. While frying the chopped onion, add garlic paste and then add onion paste and fry well till browned to eliminate the raw smell. 

8. Add kashmiri mirch and red chili powder and fry well on medium heat till the onion and masala paste are well fried. 

9. Now lower the heat and add the curd slurry of the marination. Mix well with the onion-masala paste.

10. Now raise the heat and place the fish pieces in the kadhai and gently turn them around to coat them well with the masala and curd mix.

11. Add a cup of warm water. Lower the flame, Cover the kadhai and bring to a boil. Check the salt and sugar. The gravy should be sweet-tangy-midly hot.

12. Garnish with ghee and chopped coriander leaves.

Serve with steaming hot rice.

Tawa fried Pomfret

Ingredients :
A) White Pomfret cut into half or kept whole as per choice ....with slits for masala penetration- 3 nos.
B) Ginger Garlic paste - 2 tbsp
C) Lemon juice of 2 small lemons
D) salt to taste
E) kashmiri mirch - 1 tsp for colour
F) Green chilis paste - optional
G) Coriander leaves - optional

H) Spices for dry roasting :
Whole Coriander seeds - 2 tsp
Whole Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Cinnamon - 2 to 3 sticks
Cardamon - 3-4
Cloves - 4-6
Whole Black Pepper 15-20 
Tej Pata - 2 small
Whole dry red chili - 3-4

Procedure :
1. After dry roasting the spices at 'H', dry grind them into a not-very-fine powder.
2. Mix with all other ingredients at B to G with the dry spice mix . Add a little mustard oil (or any other oil of your choice). This is the marinade  to smear the fish with
3) Liberally coat the cleaned pomfret pieces (or whole) & even the cavites with the marinade.
4) Marinate for a couple of hours. I refrigerated the marinated fish overnight.
5) Tawa fried in mustard oil.

Instead of Tawa Frying, this can be grilled too.....

Goan Green Chutney stuffed Pomfret Fry

Pomfret is something I havent cooked often. Earlier had always either tawa fried or microwaved (with a blob of butter) simply marinated (ginger-garlic-lemon-salt-pepper) pomfret pieces. 

This time thought of trying something different. Hence the internet hunt ....which yielded a simple stuffed pomfret recipe in which most of the ingredients were available at home.

Ingredients :

* Whole pomfrets - 4

* Juice of 1 lime

* Salt to taste

* Sooji/Semolina/Rawa for rolling/ dredging (optional)

* Wheat flour for dusting/sprinkling (did not use)

* Refined oil for pan frying

* Turmeric - 1 tsp

* Freshly crushed black pepper - 1 tsp (not in original recipe)

* For the green chutney

   - A large bunch of fresh coriander leaves

   - 2 sprigs fresh mint leaves-optional (I did not use)

   - 1 medium onion peeled and roughly chopped

   - 1 tbs fresh tamarind paste (I used juice of 1 big lemon)

   - 7 cloves fresh garlic

   - 1 " piece of ginger

   - 2-3 fresh green chilies

   - 1 tsp cumin seeds

   - 4 tbsp grated coconut (I used 1/2 a medium sized coconut )

   - A large pinch of turmeric

   - A pinch each of Cinnamon & Clove powder (I used 1/2 inch cinnamon stick & 3-4 pieces of cloves)

   - A large pinch of sugar to taste - optional (I used 1/2 tsp)

Grind the above chutney ingredients into a thick paste with minimum water

Procedure :

1. The fish is to be cleaned and slit into pockets. I got this done from the fishmonger

2. Rub the pomfrets and their cavities with lemon juice, salt , turmeric and freshly crushed pepper and marinate for 15-20 minutes.

3. Now stuff the cavities with the green chutney and cover the whole pomfrets in a thick paste of green chutney (as per the original recipe, only the cavities were stuffed with the green chutney)

4. Marinate for 15-20 minutes (I marinated for more than an hour)

5. When ready to fry, roll each pomfret in sooji and then dust/sprinkle wheat flour on either side. I only rolled in rawa and skipped the flour sprinkling.

6. Heat oil in a skillet / pan and slide in the pomfrets one by one into the heated oil. Cook each side for at least 5 minutes or till evenly cooked and crispy. 

Serve with tomatoes, onion and a squeeze of lemon and chopped corinader. Also potato wedges & salad as the original recipe mentioned .

Kasundi / Kashundi Maachh

Fish cooked in Kashundi (A Mustard based sauce unique to Bengal)

Quick, Easy & Delicious. Thats what Kashundi/Kasundi Maachh (Bhetki/Basa or for that matter any soft fish) is.

Ingredients 

Bhetki / Basa fillets - 500-750gm

Ginger-Garlic paste (I use homemade) - 1.5 tbspn

Chili flakes / chili powder - depends on heat tolerance

Salt

Crushed Black pepper

Procedure :

1. Bhetki/Basa fillets marinated in ginger, garlic paste, salt, pepper, chilli flakes/chilli powder and generous helping of Kashundi/Kasundi for 1/2 - 1 hr.

2. Drizzle 2-3 tbsp of Mustard Oil to the marinated fish. (This may be eliminated or just a minimum quantity of oil may be used). Mix well and place them evenly in a flat bottomed microwaveable glass container

Slit some green chilies and place them on the 'bed' of fish. 

Microwave on Power 80 for 8-10minutes.

Keep it within the oven for 2-3 minutes. 

Garnish with freshly chopped Coriander leaves.  

Tastes delicious with steamed rice.

Cooking couldnt be faster or easier!!

Grilled masala coated Whole Bhetki with Mashed Potato and Vegetables

A recipe I'd used a number of times and it was super simple and the end result was super delicious. The Source : Preeoccupied's Masala Salmon.

However instead of Salmon, I had used Bhetki / Basa in the past. This time I had a whole Bhetki fish, deboned, sans the head and tail. Used it as a whole instead of making small sized fillets from it. 

Ingredients:

For the Fish:

Deboned Bhetki - approx 1 kg

onion - 1

plain curd - 3/4 cup 

fresh coriander - 3/4 cup 

lemon juice -2 tablespoon 

green chilies-3-4 

ginger - 2 teaspoon (grated)

garlic - 5-6 cloves (minced)

vegetable oil

Salt-to taste

For the mashed potatoes

Potatoes - 4 medium 

Butter

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Chili flakes

Garlic cloves

For the sauted vegetables:

I used mushrooms, babycorn, peas

Butter

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Procedure :

Fish :

1. Finely chop the onion and deep fry them till they turn red and crispy. Remove the onions from the oil and let it cool. Keep the oil aside.

2. In a blender, add the ginger, garlic, curd, green chilies, coriander, lemon juice, the fried onions, very little of the oil (from the onions) and salt. This blend is the marinade for your fish.

3. Apply a thick layer of this marinade on both sides of the fish. For basting, drizzle the remaining oil you used to fry the onions. 

4. Keep the fish marinated for about 1/2 hour.

5. Place the whole marinated fish on the baking tray and Grill it at around 170-180 deg C about 7-8 minutes on each side. 

Mashed Potatoes :

Boil, mash potatoes.

Fry the mashed potatoes in butter and add salt, freshly ground black pepper and chili flakes, till golden brown in colour

Remove from flame

In 2-3 tbsp of butter , fry garlic cloves till golden brown.

While serving using this butter+fried garlic as the dressing for the mashed potato

Vegetables :

Saute the vegetables in butter with a sprinkling of salt & freshly ground black pepper

Serve the grilled fish with the mashed potato drizzled with butter-fried garlic and sauted vegetables

Ilish Machh Begun Diye ....Patla Shorsher Jhol

A light mustard gravy of Hilsa Fish with Brinjal

A trip to Kolkata during Ilish season always and always culminates with a Big Box of raw Ilish smeared with Oil, Salt and Turmeric, wrapped to Perfection in foil and again re-wrapped in cloth napkin, plastic to prevent the leakages. A hundred NOs and objection will fall on deaf ears of the FATHER who despite being all of eighty is determined to make a trip to the fish market to buy this delicacy for his fish loving daughter. The daughter, despite the vehement NOs and the sulk expressing her displeasure in having to carry this 'additional burden', will beam with joy as well as an exasperated smile directed at the stubborn FATHER, once she reaches her destination and opens the layered packing (perfected by who else but the MOTHER). 

Seeing the freshness of the fish, the utmost desire would be to replicate her MOTHER's perfect 'patla shorsher jhol begun diye' (a light, low on spice gravy of fish with brinjal pieces).... 

Ingredients :

Ilish - 1kg + is the ideal size (a smaller sized Ilish would be more suitable for Ilish Machh Bhaja)

One medium sized brinjal cut into semi-circular slices 

Mustard Oil

Kalo jeera

Turmeric

Red chili powder -depend on the heat tolerance

Kashmiri Mirch for the colour - 1/2 tsp

Mustard paste (made with a mix of yellow & black mustard seeds, green chili and salt) passed through the sieve to retain only the smooth paste.

Green chilies

Procedure :

1. The Ilish pieces and the brinjal pieces need to be smeared with turmeric and salt

2. Pan fry the fish v.v lightly

3. Lightly fry the brinjal pieces

4. In a kadhai, take a tbsp of mustard oil and heat till smoking hot.

5. Throw in kalo jeera (kalonji) and some green chilies

6. Add a paste of turmeric-red chili-kashmiri mirch into the oil and fry for a minute

7. If a thick strong mustard gravy is desired, use the mustard paste without passing through a sieve. I wanted a light gravy. So I passed the paste through a sieve (chhankni) and added water. Now pour either the thick mustard paste or the watery mustard paste into the kadhai. 

8. Cook on medium flame. Once it comes to a boil, slide in the brinjal pieces. 

After the brinjal is almost done, add the fish pieces into the kadhai and cover for a minute or till it comes to a boil. Add water as per the desired gravy consistency. Let the gravy come to a boil. Throw in a few slit green chilies. Take the kadhai off the gas.

9. Serve with steamed rice

Patrani Machhi...Parsi cousin of the Bengali Paturi

Fish fillet marinated in spices, wrapped in an envelop of Banana leaf and steamed or baked.

To a Bengali the spice would be predominantly Mustard paste while to a Parsi it would be a green chutney consisting of predominantly coriander leaves, pudina, coconut. 

The end result? Either a Bong Paturi or a Parsi Patrani Machchhi...both favourite, subtly flavoured fish delicacies of the respective communities.

Of course, while the Paturi is made of Bhetki or Hilsa, the Patrani Machchhi is made of Pomfret, Rawas, as far as I know.

The Bong me, this morning, wanted to try her hand at making her favourite paturi's Parsi cousin.

Internet came to my rescue and I followed this Parsi recipe from Devaki's Weave a Thousand Flavors. 

The changes I made due to availability/non-availability - For my Patrani Machchhi, I used Bhetki, freshly grated coconut, desi green chilies but it was sans pudina as I did not have the herb at home.

Ingredients : yielded approximately 24 pieces of fish

Bhetki fillet - approx 600 gms (since I had no plans of making patrani machchi, I had marinated the fish with ginger, pepper and salt)

** Dry grind spices: Jeera / cumin seeds - 1.5 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1.5 tsp ,
Fenugreek/Methi - 1/2 tsp ,
Mustard seeds - 1.5 tsp

Dry grind all the above ingredients in the coffee grinder to a fine powder. Add to the ingredients of coconut chutney (given below) to make the chutney.

Coconut Chutney: Grated coconut - 1 cup ( I used half a coconut),
Ginger - 1” piece,
peeled garlic - 3-4 cloves ,
Green chilies (depending on tolerance to heat) - 2, 

Kashmiri mirch powder - 1 tsp (not in original recipe)
fresh cilantro leaves - 1 cup (+ ¼ cup mint leaves - did not use),
sugar - 1 tsp ,
salt - 1-1/2 tsp ,
Dry roasted (instead of raw) peanuts - 1 tbs &
tamarind paste-2 tbs
**Dry ground spices from above,

1/2 cup water (more only if required)

4-6 inch wide pieces (approx square ) banana leaves , 24 nos ( I needed 3 medium sized banana leaves) to wrap fish
toothpicks

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F/175-180 deg C

2. Fish – Cut the fillet into approx.2"x3" sized pieces. Rubbed with salt  and pepper (not mentioned in original recipe) 

3. Prepared the Coconut chutney by blending all the ingredients in a grinder to make a thick pesto like fine paste. The mixture should be of thick consistency.
5. Marinade: Apply the chutney all over the fish on both sides. Marinate 4-5 hours. (I had time for only 1 hour marination)




Method:

1. Wash and dry the surface of the banana leaf . Apply oil on the surface of each leaf. Cut the banana leaf into approx. 4"x6" pieces 

2. Place each fish fillet in the center of a piece of banana leaf so the fish is parallel to the seams in the leaf. Cover generously with the marinade. 

3. Fold over on both sides and then fold over the ends ad seal with one/more tooth pick

4. Place the fish parcels on a baking tray. 'Bake' for 20 minutes in the preheated oven at 170-180 deg C.

5. Remove from the oven.

Serve hot with steamed rice.

Enjoy!

Chitol Maachher Peti'r Jhol

Light Mustard Gravy of Chitol Fish

The  Chitol is a delicacy of Bengal. While the bony 'Gaada' or dorsal part of the fish is deboned and made into Muithas / Koftas, the 'Peti' or belly portion of the fish containing less and more easily manageable bones are delightfully oily and soft.

I personally like the light gravy which brings out the rich taste of the fish rather that the more spicy 'Kalia' preparation where the taste of the fish is submerged in the deluge of onion-ginger-garlic-garam masala. But of course this is a very personal preference.....

Ingredients :

a)Chitol Maachher 'Peti' portion - approx 1 kg
b)Kalo jeera / Kalonji - 1/2 tsp
c)Holud / Haldi /Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
d)Chili powder - 1/2 to 1 tsp
e)Kashmiri Mirch powder - 1 tsp
f)Tomato chopped - 1 small (optional)
g)Dhone/Coriander seeds powder - 1 tsp
h)Sugar - a pinch
i)Salt - to taste
j)Mustard paste - 2 tbsp or more depending on how spicy you want the gravy
k)Mustard Oil - 1 tsbp
l)Green Chilies - 2-3 ..again personal preference
m) Bori / small Lentil dumplings - a handful
n)Dhonepaata / Coriander leaves

Procedure :
1. Shallow fry the fish (after smearing the pieces in a mix of turmeric-salt)


2. Heat oil in a kadai and add ingredients at sl.(b) to (i). Sprinkle some water and cook on medium to high heat till the oil separates. .....Koshano

3. Add the shallow fried fish and gently turn them around in the moshla/masala/spice mix.

4. Add a cup full of water.

5. Add 3-4 tsp of mustard paste mixed with 1/2 cup of water.Cover and bring to a boil. If boris (tiny lentil dumplings) are available, add to the boiling gravy.

6. Add slit green chilies and chopped Dhonepaata.

7.Savour with hot steamed rice. 

Chitol Maachher Muitha

Chitol Fish Koftas 

Chitol Maachher Muitha is an essentially "Bangaal" (the erstwhile Eastern region of undivided Bengal which is now present day Bangladesh) delicacy made out of the 'Gaada' (Bonier or dorsal part ) of the fish.

Seeing Chitol Maachh in the supermarket last sunday, I couldnt control my temptation and purchased a huge 2.5 kg fish.

Instructions were immediately taken over phone regarding the cutting of the Gaada-Peti and communicated to my bewildered fish seller!

Rushed back home and called up my cooking encyclopedia, ready with pen and paper, and jotted down the elaborate process of the Muitha making....

Ingredients :

For the Koftas :

The 'Gaada' or bonier part of the fish (the fish I'd bought was 2.5 kgs!!) which was approx 1 kg 

2 medium sized potatoes for every kg of gaada

2 eggs

Ginger paste - 1 tsp

Garlic paste - 1 tsp

1 small onion - finely chopped

1 small onion - made into paste

Jeera powder - 1 tsp

Chili powder - 1 tsp

Salt

Sugar - a pinch

For the gravy :

1 onion - chopped

2 onions - paste

Garam masala - whole, made into a paste/powder 

Tej pata

ginger paste - 1 tsp

garlic paste - 1tsp

1 tomato - chopped (optional)
Chili powder

Kashmiri Chili powder

Jeera powder/paste - 1tsp

Salt 

Sugar

Potato 2-3 cubed

Ghee

Oil (preferably mustard)

Procedure :

Muittha / Kofta - 

I) De-boning of the fish:

1. Wash the fish. Placing it on a flat surface, with the skin on top, hammer it lightly with the Nora of the Sheel-Nora (traditional grinding stone used in Bengali kitchens) or anything heavy

2.The fish will loosen. Now turn it around, so that the fleshy surface faces up and scoop out the flesh with a spoon.


Save the skin for kataa chochchori (we Bongs are quite the scavengers ;)) . The pic below is the starting material for Kataa Chochchori

3. Using the Sheel-Nora, grind the fish ...most of the bigger bones will come apart. Now using fingers, mash the fish further and also remove the remaining bones.

If minced, de-boned Chital is available, the rest of the Muitha making is actually a cake-walk.....

II) The rest of the Muitha making -

1. For 1 kg Gaada, use 2 medium sized boiled potatoes and mash them well and mix with the boneless, minced fish. While mixing and mashing, you may be able to remove more fine bones....

2. Add to the minced fish+mashed potato mix : 2 raw eggs, ginger, garlic paste, onion chopped, onion paste, jeera powder, chili powder, salt, sugar. Knead well as in kneading dough.

3. Put a large vessel/kadai full of water to boil. Divide the fish dough into fist sized (mutho/muitha) spheres. And slide into the boiling water. Cook for about 15 minutes. Turn the spheres from time to time. To check if done, insert a fork/needle as we do in baking. If it comes out clean, it's done.

4. Take the 'spheres' out of the water. Keep aside to cool. When cooled, cut them into approx 1.5" cubes.

5. Shallow fry them lightly.


These can make delicious finger food/snacks/starter and in case that's what you intend to make them into, fry them till they are crispy and golden brown.

The Gravy :

1. Heat oil in a kadai. Add the chopped onion, paste of garam masala, tej pata, a pinch of sugar. 

2. Along with the above 'phoron', the cubed potatoes may be added to avoid sauteing them separately.

3. When the onions are light brown in colour, add onion paste, ginger-garlic paste, chili powder, kashmiri chili, jeera powder, salt and tomato. Fry them in medium to high heat....'Koshano' or 'Bhunoing'

4. After the oil separates from the cooked masala, gently slide in the fried Muitthas / Koftas. Turn them around gently to cover them in the masala/spice mix and fry for a minute or so....add about 2 cups of water to make a gravy of medium thickness. Cover and bring to a boil.

5. Just before taking it off the flame, add a tbspn of ghee and 1/2 tsp of powder garam masala (without roasting) (garam masala at the end is optional, though)

The Chitol Maachher Muittha is ready to be savoured with plain steamed rice.

This post is being linked to "Spotlight: Show Your Best Creation" @ Cuisine Delights

Saucy Fish?!

No....there's nothing 'Saucy' or cheeky about this fish preparation....the name suggests Sauces as the main ingredients....that's all! A super quick 15 minutes (if you dont consider the marination time) recipe from start to finish....

Ingredients :
Bhetki Fish fillets : about 8-10 leftover irregular pieces after preparing the fillets for making fish fries...

Chopped Onions
Finely chopped capsicum - 1/2
Finely chopped coriander leaves/Dhonepaata - for garnishing
Sugar - 1 tsp

For marination :

Worcestershire sauce - drizzle to coat all the pieces
Soya Sauce - about 1.5 tbsp
Chili Vinegar - 2 tbsp
Chili flakes - 1 tbsp
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Garlic paste - 1tsp

Salt
Pepper

Olive Oil - 1 tsp

Procedure :
1.Add all ingredients under 'Marination' and coat all the fish pieces well and marinate, preferably, for an hour..

2. Transfer the marinated fish along along any juice into a microwaveable container, preferably with a cover/lid. Microwave in Low power (whatever is the minimum power) for 8-10 minutes. Check the "done-ness" after 5-7 minutes and decide. Keep it covered after switching off the power. Make sure it's not overdone....fish becomes fibrous....
3. In the meantime dry roast the chopped capsicum on a hot tawa on high for a minute or so ...to give a smoky taste
4. Caramelise finely chopped onions by adding a little bit of sugar while frying the onions in a little oil.
5. Garnish the microwaved fish with caramelised onions, dry roasted capsicum & finely chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with steamed rice, butter rice, bread or just some potato wedges and salad.

Kataa Chochchori (Begun diye)

Fish Head with Brinjal

This dish personifies everything rustic and unsophisticated. Some pieces of Rohu Fish head. Some small to medium brinjals. Some potatoes. And some very basic Indian spices. Nothing exotic. Nothing which even the most basic of kitchen does not have.

But the result was mindblowing...and coming from me ...who is neither too fond of Maachher Kaata nor of brinjals, it's a big compliment (to my ownself!!)

Ingredients :

250-300 gms of Rohu / Katla Fish head pieces 

8-10 medium size brinjals

2-3 medium size potatoes

1 finely chopped Onions 

Kaalojeera/Kalonji/Nigella

Garlic paste : 1 tsp 

Holud/Haldi/Turmeric - 1tsp

Kashmiri Chili - 1/2 - 1 tsp

Red Chili powder - 1tsp
Dry Roasted whole garam masala (elaichi+cardamon+cloves) and ground - 1/2 tsp

Green Chilies - 2-3 

Coriander leaves / Dhonepaata - choppe

Mustard Oil / Groundnut oil

Salt

Sugar

Please note : I had  only Brinjal...in addition, Kumro (pumpkin), Potol (Pointed gourd), Jhinge (Ridge gourd) can all be added. These need not be separately sauted in oil, but can be added after the potato. They will cook in their own juices.

Procedure :

1. Smear the Fish head pieces (which I get quartered by the fishmonger / supermarket) with salt and turmeric powder and fry them crisp and keep aside.

2. Smear the potatoes (cut lengthwise) and brinjal (cut in a shape similar to the potatoes) with salt &  turmeric powder and sauté them separately in oil.

3. In a kadai / wok, heat 3-4 tbsp of mustard oil (preferably) and season with Kalojeera followed by garlic paste.

4. Add the chopped onions and a pinch of sugar (for imparting the colour to the onions) and fry on medium heat

5. Now add a paste comprising of Turmeric powder, the chili powders and salt, to the oil. And keep frying till the oil separates out.

6. Add the sauted (‘shaantlano’) potatoes followed by the brinjals. Cook them while stirring. When the veggies are almost cooked, add the crispily fried Fish head pieces. Mix well. Sprinkle some water if too try. And cover an let it cook for 3-5minutes.

7. Remove the cover, sprinkle 1/2 tsp of roasted and ground garam masala powder. Break some green chilies and add to the cooked 'Chochchori' / ‘Chorchori’ ...give it a final stir and after garnishing with chopped coriander / Dhonepaata, take it off the flame.

Serve with steamed white rice….aaah bliss! 

Baked Fish (Bhetki) on a bed of grated Cabbage

 Bhetki Fillets, juicy & succulent. The first thought which comes to mind is Fish Fry (the Bong way). But the past few days have been an overdose of Fish Fries and hence decided against it.

As necessity is the mother of ALL inventions or discoveries and in this case recipes, decided to put to use the only vegetable available at home and 'create' something new. Well..... was definitely skeptical as to how fish and cabbage would taste....So with apprehensions mounting regarding the outcome of the dish and how it would be received by my in-house trio (father & daughters) of food tasters/critics/consumers etc etc, I went ahead.

Ingredients :

Bhetki fillet - around 1.5 kgs which yielded about 12-15 boneless pieces

Vinegar / Lemon juice-1/2 cup

Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tbsp

Onion juice (optional)
Green chilli paste (optional)

Salt

Pepper - freshly ground

chilli flakes

coriander leaves - finely chopped

grated cheese- 1 cup

butter

finely chopped cabbage - 1

2 onions - diced

Procedure :
1. Marinate the bhetki fillet / steak in a mix of vinegar/lemon juice + ginger-garlic paste + onion juice (optional) + green chilli paste (Optional) + very finely chopped coriander leaves + salt/rock salt + freshly ground pepper

2. Finely chop / grate the cabbage. I chopped mine. You may blanch the chopped cabbage...I didnt as i wanted it to retain its crunchiness.

3. Preheat the OTG in bake mode at 250 deg C.

4. Spray / smear butter/oil on the baking tray. Make a bed of the grated / chopped cabbage. Squeeze juice of 2 (or more lemon depending on how tangy you like) lemon. Sprinkle salt (in moderation) & pepper . Mix well and make an uniform bed of cabbage.

5. Place the diced  onions on the cabbage bed. and also scatter some tiny butter cubes on the bed.

6. Now place the marinated fish fillet / steak on the cabbage bed. With a pastry brush, liberally brush the top of fish pieces with melted butter or oil. I had used butter. Now garnish liberally with grated cheese. And finally sprinkle roasted red chilli flakes..


7. Set the OTG at aroun 180 deg C in bake mode for around 12-15 minutes or till the cheese turns golden brown. Prick the fish with a fork to ensure it's cooked. Do not over bake/cook the fish....it'll turn fibrous an chewy.

8. Serve with some crispy fried potato wedges or roasted baby potatoes (as in Sl.13 of this procedure).

And the unanimous verdict was 'YUMMILICIOUS'!!!!


And since this incidental &experimental dish is healthy indeed, it is off to Indrani's Blog Event SPOTLIGHT:HEALTHY BAKING which was originally announced here


And as this baked dish would make a great main course in a Christmas Lunch, it's off to Sudeshna's Blog (COOK LIKE A BONG) ' s CHRISTMAS EVENT

Reposting Protein Rich Food

The following two main courses are being reposted for the event "COOK IT HEALTHY" - "Proteinicious"

1. Baked Fish

Baked Bhetki Fillet (wrapped in spinach and topped with cheese) served with steamed & sauted vegetables and fried baby potatoes

 ***

2. Fried Jumbo Prawns in roasted tomato-cheese-garlic sauce with Cinnamon Rice

Jumbo Prawns fried in butter in cheese-roast tomato-garlic sauce and served with Cinnamon Rice