Jeera Begun Diye Macher Jhol - Fish in Cumin Gravy with Eggplant

 

Jeera Begun Diye Macher Jhol

I've made variations of this dish and blogged about them in the past. Today I combined eggplants with roasted cumin seed powder to flavour this Maacher Jhol. There was an abundance of eggplants in the fridge, of the Japanese variety, which are my favourite. Eggplant pairs well with roasted cumin seeds. I make a big batch by taking a jar of McCormick’s cumin seeds (or buy in bulk at an Indian grocery store) and dry roasting them in an iron skillet over medium heat just until its aroma is released. Allow the seeds to cool, place in a coffee grinder and grind to a fine powder. Store the roasted cumin seed powder in its original jar or a glass jar with a tight lid, for future use. The base of the gravy for this Macher Jhol comprises two quartered onions, some chopped ginger, a tomato and a green chili that are blanched for 3-4 minutes and pureed in a blender. The resulting gravy is thick and clings to the eggplant and fish pieces. This macher jhol goes very well with steamed rice or hot and fluffy chapatis/tortillas.

Begun diye Maach'er Jhol - Eggplant & Fish Curry

Begun diye Maach'er Jhol

True fish lovers insist that bone-in fish taste much better than filleted fish. I prefer bone-in fish, but hubby prefers filleted fish, so both are cooked any time curry or jhol is on the menu. In this case, Shol Maach and Tilapia Maach were made in the same way, so everyone's happy.

Shol Maach'er Jhol

Shol maach is a species of catfish that is now available in SE Asian markets in the U.S. It looked interesting, but was tough to identify on the internet. It tasted sweet, was meaty and very good prepared in this way.

Tilapia Maach'er Jhol

Tilapia fillets are commonly found in the North American supermarkets and are hubby's favourite fish. 

Eggplant & Fish Curry

Fish Curry with Eggplant and Lentil Dumplings

Begun Bori Diye Macher Jhol

I've made variations of this dish and blogged about them in the past. Today I combined eggplants with dried lentil dumplings or bori in this Maacher Jhol. There was an abundance of eggplants in the fridge, of the Japanese variety, which are my favourite. Bori are little nuggets of "deliciousness" which add another dimension to anything they're added to. They are salted so make sure not to add salt without first tasting the gravy.

Fish with Garlic, Tomatoes and Green Onions

Rosun r Pyaj Koli Diye Maacher Jhol

My previous post detailed my memories attached to this dish. After consulting with my big sister, I was able to reproduce my Mamima, or aunt's recipe more accurately. The coarsely ground mustard seeds in my prior post were replaced with garlic which gives this gravy a lighter, fresher appearance and taste .

Any white fish, such as snapper, tilapia or carp, will work for this recipe and it goes without saying that fish cut in steaks with the bones intact, always taste much better than filleted fish. I used both sliced onions and onion paste and also added potatoes to this fish curry.

Fish in Tomato & Green Onion Gravy

Pyaj Koli r Tomato Diye Maacher Jhol

My life and that of my entire family took a marked turn in 1964 when we left our home in Burma and moved to India. One of my clearest memories of that time is the happy times we spent with my Mum's family. Her brother's wife and our Mamima made fish this way with tomatoes and green onions.

So when I came across this recipe on the internet, it made me so inspired that I had to try it out immediately. The tempering at the start of the recipe, I was sure, was quite different from my Mamima's way of cooking the gravy. So I consulted my sister over the phone and she confirmed my suspicions. She used garlic instead of ground mustard for a more palatable flavour. The green onions she used were also different from the leafy onion chives we get outside India. The stems of the onion plant with flower buds at the top, available in India, have a much stronger flavour of onion which made the dish outstanding in every way.

But I decided to try this recipe the way it was written, adding my own adaptations along the way. Any white fish, such as snapper, tilapia or carp, will work for this recipe and it goes without saying that fish cut in steaks with the bones intact, always taste much better than filleted fish. I'll try my Mamima's recipe another time and hope to have luck in my hunt for onion stalks in the Asian markets.

Pressure-Cooked Doi Ilish

Doi Ilish

It's not easy to get Ilish Maach, a.k.a hilsa, here unless there is a Bangladeshi market in the neighbourhood or at least within driving distance. I was so happy when Alladin opened up around the corner in a strip mall. First of all, they are my source for Balachaung-in-a box, better balachaung than I can make at home. A couple of days ago, I went there to replenish my stock of balachaung and casually inquired if they had Ilish Maach. I've watched a few videos on pressure cooking ilish that causes the bones to soften sufficiently that scaredy cats can enjoy this lovely fish.

The videos make it look pretty simple - all that's required is a pressure cooker and the ingredients for Doi Maach or fish cooked in yogurt gravy. The store owner was a friendly soul from Chittagong who was happy to clean and cut the ilish I picked out. 

Ilish (the closest to an American fish is Shad) is a fatty fish that's rich in Omega 3 fatty acids. It's taste and aroma when cooked is quite spectacular. I decided to follow the instructions in the video so what we had was Doi Ilish or ilish in yogurt gravy.

Cooking the fish for 1.5 hours under pressure was pretty daunting, but there was no reason to worry because there was plenty of gravy left and it didn't stick to the bottom of the pressure cooker. The secret? To use lots of sliced onions as the first layer and to bring it up to pressure and reduce the heat to its lowest setting then forgetting about it for 1.5 hours. 

The videos recommended simmering off the excess gravy for another half an hour after removing the cooker cover, but there was no need to do that because the amount of gravy was perfect! The dish tasted awesome and the best part of this experiment was to watch the hubster/DH eat a whole piece of fish. The bones really did soften, reminiscent of sardines or salmon in the can. 

Fish in Mustard Sauce - Maacher Sorshe Bata Jhaal

Maacher Jhaal

If time is of the essence and processing mustard seeds seems like a chore, the next best thing is to use Coleman's Mustard Powder, dissolved in some water. This is a fast and easy way to prepare any fish fillets or steaks. I've used fillets of flounder in this recipe, but will avoid it in the future because they just can't help falling apart as they cook. Steaks would probably work a lot better, if your family can handle the bones. Any fish works well, salmon steaks taste lovely, but ilish maach or hilsa cannot be beat. Only problem is that hilsa are not readily available outside India.