JHINGE PEYAZ DIYE MAKHAMAKHA KAJOLI

Kajoli is a much loved fish variety in both sides of my family. I checked the wiki and see it is called Gangetic Ailia / Ailia Coila in English. It is majorly found and eaten in the Indian Subcontinent. It is perhaps heading towards it's extinct, why not? There is a major shift amidst the new age Bengalis themselves to go for a quick curry with big, fat, less boney oily variety of fish or chicken or egg curry rather than to sit with cleaning a smaller variety of fish, rubbing the spices all over, cutting properly the vegetables to go with it. The later kinds are not kids' choice friendly either, so I cannot blame the mothers of not doing such kind of dishes often. Who has time today, people multitask. I accept that part. What worries me is that these homely, traditional dishes are vanishing from the scenario. That should not happen is what I feel. Keep the tradition alive at some corner of your heart, cook them once a month or once in two months.

Such dishes like this JHINGE PEYAZ DIYE MAKHAMAKHA KAJOLI is a gluten-free, non-vegetarian, Bengali fish recipe with a smaller variety of freshwater cat fish Kajoli / Gangetic Ailia, Ridge Gourd, Onion and very few spices. In my side of the family they do not always fry a fresh, smaller variety of fish; they marinate everything together, temper the heated oil and cook it slow covered without using water. They eat deep fried, smaller variety of fish though. In the in-law's side, they deep fry any smaller variety of fish and cook it with a couple of vegetables including potato. I have already shared one or two smaller variety of fish recipe as done in both sides of the family in the blog earlier, let me add one more. Actually Bele Maach, another smaller variety of fish is done this way more in our family; when I get to blog about it, I will search the english name for bele.

Yesterday, I went to the Indian Market to get some homely, near to the heart stuffs. It is still risky; yet I went and it was worth it. I got hilsa & rohu, I got pointed gourd perhaps after 7-8 months, fresh drumsticks too. I am happy. So what if the son does not enjoy these kind of dishes, I try my best so that he does not give up altogether. He enjoys crispy, batter fried smaller variety of fish. I do that and serve; to lessen my work, I will not cook a big pot of chicken curry and serve him everyday. That he enjoys Bombay Duck bharta & pakora, dried fish, banana blossom veggies & fritter, stuffed pointed gourd is because I did not give up. At a younger age, I also did not like a fish dish with a smaller variety like this JHINGE PEYAZ DIYE MAKHAMAKHA KAJOLI, now I crave for it. Good that we live in an Asian hub where we get similar variety of small sized fishes and I keep recreating traditional recipes with them. I firmly believe, one day the son will stop and look back, will take interest in his own culture; to be otherwise is so very wrong, utterly disgusting. I definitely do not have such acute problem with the man, he grew up in a very Bengali environment. He never ever denied his identity nor tried to prove what he is not. He loves his "ilish, katla, aar, manghso, deem" & Hemanta, Manna, western music, films, news channels all in the same length & breadth.

INGREDIENTS :

KAJOLI / GANGETIC AILIA / ANY VARIETY OF SMALL FISH : 400-500GM
RIDGE GOURD  : 1 SMALL OR 1/4 OF THE GIANT SIZED WE GET HERE
ONION : 1BIG
GREEN CHILLI : 5-6
RED CHILLI POWDER : 2 TSP [CHOOSE AS PER YOUR HEAT TOLERANCE]
TURMERIC POWDER : 1/2 TSP
NIGELLA SEED / KALOJEEREY / KALONJI : 1/4 TSP
SALT : AS REQUIRED
OIL : 1 TBSP + 3 TBSP [WE USE MUSTARD]

PROCEDURE :

This fish is very soft, single boned. It is not at all a problem to eat the bone, who will tell my son? If we cook it without frying, they tend to break; so soft they are. 

We need only our fingers to clean the stomach of each fish. If you want, you can cut the tail end a bit.

Now wash them gently and drain the water. 

Peel, cut half the ridge gourd / jhinge and further into strips length wise. Wash them.

Peel and wash the onion and slice it thin. Wash and slit the green chillies.

Add the washed ridge gourd strips, sliced onion, slitted green chillies and add to the bowl of fish.

Add the turmeric, salt as required, red chilli powder and 1tbsp of lightly heated oil, mustard oil preferably.

Rub well and marinate everything together. Keep aside for 12-15 minutes.

Heat 3 tbsp oil in a wok and temper with nigella seeds / kalojeerey.  Add the marinated fish that has ridge gourd, green chillies and onion along with the marinade.

Cover cook at minimal heat for 7-8 minutes. Open the cover, lightly fold in and cover cook at minimal heat for another five minutes. We should be done.

It only goes with piping hot steamed rice. One can try with millet too.