MAACH TARKARIR JHOL

A fish curry with assorted vegetables..... doesn't that sound too yum?.... if off course you are an "accommodative" fish lover unlike me. However, I do love some variety of Thai or Chinese fish dishes.... Thai steamed ones still have spices but I wonder how the Oriental ones cooked in soya sauce get rid of the smell.... I simply love steamed seabass & snapper, never can recreate them exactly at home! Some mornings I do not cook, I reserve the cooking thing for the evening. I cook my men's lunch, pack send them to school and office, then go out for my outdoor exercises or sometimes take a leisurely stroll at the nearest mall. Some evenings I wish to spend less time in the kitchen but at the same time do not forget that my family needs to get proper nutrition. I really have to struggle to feed veggies to the two vegetable haters at home. So the other day, to all of our convenience I prepared this Fish Curry with Assorted Veggies.

This time I can claim the sole idea of how to cook it is entirely mine. There may be many regions who cook veggies and fish together. Even in my side of the family, we prepare fish curry with pointed gourd, potato, egg plant, ridge gourd. Here I am talking about the spice mix I used. I thought of coming out of the regular ada[ginger]-jeera[cumin]-dhoney[coriander] bata[paste] and use a different spice mix to make it more flavourful. This flavour thing has become a necessity because we need to cover up the smell of sea fish which we cannot stand as we have grown up on fresh-water fish. You see just a little change in the spices can bring a change in the taste of a dish which is required. Let us see how I have done it.

INGREDIENTS :

Any Firm White Fish : 500gm
Tomato : 1big[washed, chopped and grind to paste]
Onion : 1medium[peeled,washed, sliced]
Cauliflower Florets : 1medium cup [of 1/2 of a medium sized]
Carrot Cubes : 1small cup [of 1 small sized ]
Potato : 1 medium[cut lengthwise and then widthwise]
Ginger Paste : 1tsp
Garlic Paste : 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek Seeds : 2pinches
Fennel Powder[mouri guro] : 1/2tsp
Coriander Powder[dhone guro] : 1tsp
Garam Masala Powder : 1/2 tsp
Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1tbsp
Asafoetida[hing] : A pinch[optional]
Lemon Juice : 3tbsp
Salt : As Required
Tamarind Juice : 2tbsp
Lime Leaf : 2-3
Oil : 3tbsp

METHOD :

Wash and marinate the fish pieces with salt, turmeric powder and lemon juice for 1hour.

Wash the cauliflower florets and rub with salt. Half boil them in water. We can microwave them at low heat for 5 minutes and strain the water once done. Apply little salt and turmeric.

Peel the carrot and potato, cut as told and wash thoroughly. Apply little salt and turmeric.

Heat oil in a wok, fry the potatoes, cauliflower florets and carrot pieces in batches. Keep aside. Temper the same oil with asafoetida and fenugreek seeds. As they crackle, add the onion slices.

Once the onions turn golden brown, add the ginger-garlic paste, saute till the raw smell goes away.

Add the tomato paste, salt and turmeric. Fry till the oil separates from spices.

Add the fennel, coriander and Kashmiri red chilli powder. Stir for 1 minute.

Pour 1 big cup of water and cover . As the gravy comes to boil, add the fish pieces, lime leaves and the half done veggies. Cover cook at low heat for 4-5 minutes.

Add the garam masala powder and tamarind juice. Boil for 1 minute. Its done.

It goes very well with piping hot steamed rice.