BENGALI BHOLA MACH CHILLI MUSTARD CURRY

THIS WAS ON MY MIND FOR LONG!

I mean I was too happy to find Bhola Bhetki / Indian Jew Fish  / Indian Croaker Fish here; not frozen but fresh! Post pandemic, the supply got too irregular! Earlier, I used to get them locally too! Post pandemic, the local wet market does not remain the same; there were three fish vendors & two big vegetables shops! Now there are only one fish vendor & one vegetables shop; that wet market's meat shops I bought from rarely! In the floor above of this permanent wet market in our area, has a smaller market from where I buy chicken & vegetables regular, some days fish too from the three fish stalls that sell local sea fish varieties mostly! One day, I have to visit the big wet market at the Hougang Avenue 1, just beside my doctor's clinic! I have to check if I get Bhola Mach, Lote Mach there, it gets closed by the time I visit my doctor! There is no point buying from the Tekka market unless you are visiting there on a Saturday or Sunday morning! Hence, you would see me shopping from the local smaller market, Rajdhani Stores, Southern Indian stores! I miss here only my choice of river fish varieties! I come across some Thai or Myanmarese profiles where I see their fish markets filled with fresh, our kind of fish varieties, tyangra, pabda, bell, aar mach, koi, puti & few more! I wonder why they are not imported fresh here, a lot of Bengalis stay here who would not want to have those frozen river fish varieties!

I HAPPILY COOK A VARIETY OF RECIPES HENCE!

We actually do not mind having a Luchi-Cholar Dal, Bhature, Lemon Rice, Homemade Chicken Burger Meals hence! I cannot source enough variety & choice of fish to cook throughout the week! It is not a healthy habit to have mutton regular, that too is either lamb or mutton with too much of fat! Seriously, I enjoy a spicy kebab made with the cheapest variety of fish fillet! Only that, deep inside, I miss a freshly made macher jhol / fish curry made with my choice of fish! I get home from pomfret to sea-bass to salmon; Cristine, her Sir & the son love them! I have decided I would not accept any unknown fish & meat at this stage in life! I know how to cook a varied number of Bengali / Desi style vegetarian recipes, the problem is I cannot turn to be a full-fledged vegetarian! My brother gets upset or not, I like smaller prawns & vegetables dishes, Bengali style! Yesterday, our lunch was spinach+potato, egg curry & faux poppy seed bakes made with white sesame seeds; all Bengali style! I managed to click our dinner, ragi+refined flour flatbread, light chicken curry, raita!

These days, I store only one variety of millet flour at a time, next I would get Bajra flour! This works well for us, we cannot live in a world of millet made kebabs to curry, neither do I wish to discard them totally! Had I have known about them two decades back, our son need not have to survive on "chirey, muri, khoi, bhaat" for some three years! I miss that extremely busy life with him, how every day we travelled 22km+22km to & fro his school, I wished for some me time in that busy schedule! Today, I crave to see him, only once in a year I get to! It feels disgusted!

WHAT IS THIS BENGALI BHOLA FISH CHILLI MUSTARD CURRY?

This wasn't amongst our family fish until one day in my teens, our mother got it home! It was a winter morning probably, because the brother & moi loved the curry made with the raw fish & fresh coriander paste! Both fresh coriander & this fish was available during the winters in those days! In the present day, those we get throughout the year! The fish comes in different shapes & colour; I love the below variety, the picture is sourced from the internet!

I do not know why it is called Indian Jew Fish, it is Bhola or Poa in Bengali which is not exactly Barramundi or Asian Sea-Bass! May be they belong to the same Croaker family & are cousins! In the pre-pandemic times, Singapore wet markets sold them fresh & that made me happy! Now a days, they are rarely seen! I just do not get at least some choice of fresh fish! I dug out these pictures from the album, a gluten-free Bengali style fish curry done with a choice of fish; BENGALI BHOLA MACH CHILLI MUSTARD CURRY! Well, I went down for a swim, back home took a shower, did the afternoon prayer & ate a huge meal!

I love noodles so much so that at times I would have it tossed in some butter, salt, crushed black pepper! Adding the peanuts did not make me happy, the family never did! The mango Swiss roll tasted heavenly, that our daughter like Wisha got us last Saturday! These days, I do not mention in public who got us what or what I take for people, it might create pressure on others, send a wrong message I do not intend to!

Few other Bengali recipes from my blog are; SUGAR FREE LUCHIR PAYESH, CHINGRI ALOO PEPER DALNA, MUSHUR DAL ER BORA, BENGALI STYLE LIGHT CHICKEN CURRY

INGREDIENTS :

BHOLA BHETKI / INDIAN JEW / INDIAN CROAKER FISH PIECE : 7-8

BLACK MUSTARD SEED : 1 TBSP

GREEN CHILLI : 5-6 [CHOOSE YOUR'S]

CHOPPED FRESH CORIANDER : 1 TBSP

TURMERIC POWDER : 1 TSP

KALONJI / KALOJEEREY / NIGELLA SEED : 1/4 TSP

BAYLEAF : 1

SALT : AS REQUIRED

OIL : 3 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

I like this fish's orange-red variety that is not flat shaped but the elongated ones; that tastes better to me! It definitely belong to the Croaker family!

Cut half each fish, clean the stomach! It has a lot of scales, get rid of them well! Wash well, re-check if all of the scales are gone!

Marinate the fish pieces with salt & turmeric for some 10-12 minutes!

We need to soak the mustard seeds in water for 1/2 an hour! Strain, wash and blend the mustard seeds to a paste along with some salt, ice-cubes & the green chillies!

The salt & ice-cubes do not let the paste turn bitter! Do the paste only 5 minutes before cooking, else the heat of the mustard vanishes!

Heat the oil in the wok & lightly fry the fish pieces, take out! 

Temper the same oil with the nigella seeds & a bayleaf! Add the mustard paste and stir for half a minute! Add 1&1/2 coffee mug of water & bring to a boil!

After the curry has boiled for 2-3 minutes in low heat, add the lightly fried fish pieces, cover cook for 3-4 minutes!

Add some chopped & washed coriander leaves, adjust the salt if required & take down! 

It is to be enjoyed only with plain rice!