Fish & Potatoes with Lentil Dumplings in Ginger-Tomato Gravy

Tengra Maach Alu Bori

Tilapia Maach Alu Bori

This recipe was inspired by one I saw on Facebook. I've made very few changes to the original recipe which was made with Rohu fish or carp which is not readily available in my neighbourhood. I soaked the boris in hot water to soften them up, just because this is how it's done in my family. To make the gravy, I heated the water along with the boris in the microwave and added it to the pan. 

Why two kinds of fish? The top one's for me. Made with whole bone-in fish it has cumin and chili powder in the gravy. The other fish is for Hubby, made with tilapia fillets and without chili and cumin powders. Both are cooked in a ginger and tomato gravy with potatoes and lentil dumplings (bori in Bengali).

The tomato gravy is made with Campari tomatoes which are of medium size and so sweet that it's not necessary to add any sugar to the gravy. Campari tomatoes are grown in Mexico, shipped to Ontario, Canada (for packaging I think) and then reach our markets in Michigan. Kind of a circuitous route, don't you think?

Tangra Maacher Begun Jhol

Tangra is of the catfish family
Any small whole fish can be used

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