SHORSHE SALMON [SALMON IN MUSTARD SAUCE]

Mustard and Bengalis have a long standing relationship, its tongue tickling heat just suits us. We use it for tempering the oil for various veggies, mainly its paste for preparing various fish curries and vegetables; from Shukto to Drumstick Masala. On reaching Kolkata, the first thing in my to-do-list is visiting the fish market the next morning. Oh how happy I feel to be among a variety of fresh water fish and the warmth of the fish sellers...."Didi when did you come? Come, we have the best Hilsa / katla / aar / boyal / tyangra for you."Perhaps they say it to every patent customer, but the warmth in their tone is jenuine and that touches me.

I shall be lying if I say I don't get this warmth in my present abode altogether. A Saturday / Sunday morning at the Wet Market; I see a lot of fish loving Indian Bongs religiously present there; can hear these few broken Bengali words; sister / brother.... bhalo illish achey; with similar warmth in their tone. It is then the pain of staying far from your own land lessens a bit. Yet I do miss my kind of fish here. 

Among a large variety of sea fish, I can only have few like Salmon, Snappers. Not everyday we get to eat Salmon given its price but I like having it; the typical Bengali way. What you need for this is few green chillies, mustard seeds, salt, turmeric and salmon. On that day, we also had a carrot+French bean+potato stir fry and red lentil curry on the side to have with plain rice.

INGREDIENTS :

Salmon : 4-6 pieces

Mustard Seeds : 1tbsp[ if you are averse to too much heat, use the yellow mustard seeds]
Salt : As required
Turmeric : 1/2tsp
Green Chillies : 4-5 [adjust as per your taste]

Ice Cube : 2-3 [prevents the paste getting bitter]
Mustard Oil : 3 tbsp

PROCEDURE :

Wash the fish pieces well and marinate the fish with salt and turmeric. Keep aside for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare a paste with washed mustard seeds and green chillies adding some salt, ice cubes and water. Be careful about the amount of water, the masala should not be watery.

Heat the oil in a wok and temper the oil with the nigella seeds & halved green chillies.

Add the chilli mustard paste and stir for 1/2 a minute. Add 1 coffee mug of water and bring it to boil. Let the gravy boil for 2-3 minutes at low heat. Now add the fish pieces with the marination to the wok.

Let it cook at low heat for 3-4 minutes. Thereafter, turn over the fish pieces, cook for another 2-3 minutes. We should be done.

Enjoy the curry with piping hot steamed rice.