Asian Caramelized Fish Curry

An Asian variation of fish in coconut milk. Caramelizing the sugar and adding fish sauce to the gravy gives it a unique flavor. Serve as a main dish with steamed rice.

Stir-Fried Catfish Fillets and Potatoes

Magur Maach Alu Makha Makha

I had a few pieces of catfish fillet in the freezer so decided to add half a russet potato and rustle up a quick stir-fried dish. This goes well with both rice or Indian bread.

Magur Maacher Jhol

Catfish Curry

In West Bengal, India, catfish comes to the fish market live, just like koi (climbing perch) and tangra. All of these fish are believed to have recuperative qualities. They are prepared in very light gravies for invalids and when consumed in hot weather. This is a particularly easy preparation because all the ingredients are mixed together and simmered until the oil resurfaces.

Catfish Steaks in Fennel Seed Sauce

Mouri Bata Diye Magur Maacher Jhol

This dish was inspired by Ishani Ghosh Majumdar's recipe posted on Kitchen Raagas group in Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4360786297996&set=oa.358676787548427&type=1&theater

Ishani made this dish with climbing perch (koi maach) which is not readily available in this area. Both climbing perch and catfish are bought live from the markets in Bengal, India, and dressed by the fishmonger only after they are sold. As an alternative, I've used live catfish from the oriental store and requested the fishmonger to cut it into steaks. 

The fennel paste is made by roasting fennel seeds in a dry skillet until their aroma is released, taking care not to brown them. Once cooled, the fennel seeds are ground to a fine powder in a coffee grinder that has been reserved specifically for grinding spices.  

After each use, the spice grinder is whirred with baking powder to clean it and remove all aromas.


Ingredients:
6 catfish steaks
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. fennel seeds
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 Tbsp. ginger paste
½ tsp. turmeric
1 Tbsp. Kashmiri mirch or chili powder
2 + 1 Tbsp. fennel seeds, roasted and ground to a fine powder
½ tsp. sugar
salt to taste
4 green chilies, slit
chopped cilantro

Directions:
1. Apply salt & turmeric to catfish and set aside to marinate for ½ an hour.
2. Make a paste with 1 tsp. oil, ginger paste, salt, Kashmiri mirch & 2 Tbsp. fennel powder.
3. Stir remaining 1 Tbsp. fennel powder and sugar with water and set aside.
4. In a skillet over medium-high heat, fry catfish steaks in oil and set aside.
5. In the same oil, fry fennel seeds until they sputter, then add the tomatoes.
6. Cook tomatoes with 1st batch of fennel paste until tomatoes break down.
7. Add a cup of boiling water, stir the gravy and adjust salt to taste.
8. Add fried catfish, bring gravy to a boil and add 2nd batch of fennel paste.

9. Garnish with cilantro & green chilies and serve with steamed Basmati rice.

Mohinga - Burmese Fish Noodle Soup

Catfish Soup (center), Garnishes (top left), Rice Noodles (top right)

When it comes to comfort food, Mohinga is one of my favorites. It brings back fond memories of early morning vendors who carry a coal stove, holding a pot of soup, on one end of a pole and all the cooking utensils and ingredients for this noodle dish on the other end of a bamboo pole slung across the shoulders.  This noodle soup is considered the Burmese national dish and is eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Generally, every family has their own variation of this dish and this is my adaptation. I prefer to make a large batch of this meal and invite a group of friends to join in this hearty Burmese meal.

This recipe was adapted from the recipe featured on the Hsaba website. Two forms of catfish were used in my recipe, catfish nuggets (mostly from the belly of the fish) which are added at the start of making the soup and chopped fillets that are added at the end, to make sure that guests get enough fish in their soup bowls. 

Fish in Mustard Gravy

Tilapia Macher Jhal

I find that making this dish on the spur of the moment is not  possible because mustard seeds need to be soaked overnight in salt and water to get rid of its bitterness.  Using Coleman’s  Mustard saves a lot of time.  The other time-saver is to add the fish directly to the gravy instead of frying it beforehand.  This steams the fish, keeping it moist and tender.  

Inspiration for this recipe is attributed to Dipanwita Banerjee who is a wonderful cook!

Ingredients:

1 lb. Salmon, Tilapia or Catfish fillets or steaks

Soak next two ingredients for 15 minutes and grind into paste:

3 Tbsp. white poppy seeds (posto)

¾ cup boiling water

Stir into paste and set aside for 10 minutes:

1 Tbsp. Coleman’s English Mustard superfine powder

Phoron:

3 Tbsp. oil

½ tsp. nigella seeds (kalo jeera/kalonji)

2 green chilies, sliced

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 medium onion, sliced

4 Tbsp. Hunt’s tomato sauce (not ketchup) or 2 medium tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup hot water

 Salt to taste

Garnish with:

1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro

Directions:

1.    Soak poppy seeds in boiling water for 15 minutes & blend both until smooth.
2.    Stir in Coleman’s Mustard and set aside for 10 minutes.
3.    Cut fish fillets in half.  If using fish steaks, leave whole.
4.    Heat oil in saucepan; add nigella seeds & chilies.
5.    When seeds begin to sputter, fry onions until translucent.
6.    Add tomato sauce or chopped tomatoes, lower heat & simmer until oil resurfaces.
7.    Stir in poppy seed paste & simmer for 5 minutes.
8.    Add ½ cup hot water, bring to a boil and add fish pieces.  
9.    Cook over low heat for 5 more minutes.
10.    Adjust salt to taste, garnish with cilantro and serve.