AAR DHONEPATA BATA JHOL / FISH CORIANDER CURRY

This fish preparation is particular of the Comilla district of Bangladesh. Comilla is one of the major districts of Bangladesh located about 100 km southeast of Dhaka. Originally my forefathers belonged to this  place, hence brought with them the cuisine typical of that place. This particular dish is not so popular amongst others in our community. I love this winter delight fish curry  which can be  extremely soothing during summers too. After I got married, I cooked this AAR DHONEPATA BATA JHOL at my in-law's place too which they liked. It should please my readers too!

I am just back from a 4 day relaxed holiday from a beautiful hill side in Malaysia....enjoyed the food, climate, picturesque nature, indulgent spa treatment.... everything. However the typical Bengali inside me was craving for home cooked food. Though I call myself cosmopolitan, I am deep inside a typical Bengali. I am a foodie, I love world cuisine, but at the end of the day I want my share of fish curry and.......filling this blank is easy... but I am not allowed to have  it to my heart's content. For a rice lover like me....its a curse sort of. So today, back from the work, the tired me is happily cooking my favourite fish curry with coriander paste.

For this fish coriander curry....you need sweet water fish which must be fresh. Its mainly done with Aar[long whiskered cat fish], Pabda[butter fish], Tangra[ a small variety of catfish perhaps], Chara Pona[tiny carp]. Its done with little of ingredients, mainly fresh green coriander leaves paste. Its a light, aromatic curry. You can add broad beans and egg plants to this curry or prepare it plain. 

INGREDIENTS :

Aar [long-whiskered cat fish] : 4 pieces
Dry Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Green Chilli : 2
Salt : As required
Turmeric Powder : 1/2 tsp
Kalojirey [nigella seeds/kalonji] : 2pinches
Coriander Leaves : 50 gm
Oil : 1tbsp

METHOD :

Clean and wash the fish pieces. Add salt, turmeric powder ; marinate well. Keep aside for few minutes. This curry is done with fresh variety of fish, smaller in size are are not refrigerated; authentically the fish pieces are not meant to be fried; they are marinated with salt, chilli powder & turmeric powder & added to the boiling curry. 

Because we do not get this variety of fish fresh in this island, I heated the oil & lightly fried the fish pieces, took them out!

When the fish pieces were frying, we washed and chopped the coriander leaves, blended them into a paste along with the green chillies adding very little water. The mixture should not be watery but paste like.

I tempered the same oil with nigella seeds & added the green chilli & fresh coriander paste, a bit of turmeric & the red chilli powder! I stir cooked the paste for a while & added 2 coffee mugs of water! I added the lightly fried fish pieces. 

We need to cover cook at the lowest heat for 3-4 minutes. We would uncover and flip over the fish pieces very carefully. They should not break. We would cover cook for another 2 minutes, adjusting the salt. It should be done.

Enjoy it with piping hot steamed rice!