Tuesday 19 August 2014

Aloo Begun diye Ilish maacher jhol

Aloo begun diye patla ilisher jhol
This is another very light macher jhol.
The flavour of kalo jeere / nigella seeds along with the green chillies is enough to bring out the beautiful and light flavour of the Ilish.
Simmer it as long as you want to. The more the time, the better the jhol soaks up the beautiful flavour of the Ilish. And vice versa.

I do not usually add tomatoes to this jhol.
But when I get the beautiful, local grown tomatoes ... the roundish ones .... I do add one to this.
Just one small tomato is enough to bring some required sourness to this jhol to perfectly balance the flavours. 

If you get the hybrid, longish variety, you can skip the addition of it totally.
And yes, no sugar in this jhol.

Can't type much.
So straight to the recipe.

Need :

Pieces of the Ilish - 3, lightly fried
Potato / Aloo - 1 medium, cut lengthwise
Brinjals / Begun - 1 small, cut lengthwise
Tomato - 1, cut lengthwise
Kalo jeere / Nigella seeds - ½ tsp
Fresh green chillies - 2, broken
Haldi / Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Mustard oil - 2 tbsp ( less if you prefer )
Water - enough for the jhol of your desired consistency


Kalo jeere diye patla ilish jhol
 How to :

Heat the oil in a deep kadahi.
Add the kalo jeere + green chillies.
Immediately add the potatoes and stir them well on high heat for around a minute.
Lower heat and add the haldi, a little salt and water.
Cover and cook till the potatoes are half done.
Now add the brinjal pieces. If needed add some more water.
Check for proper salt.
Cover and cook till the vegetables are done.
 Remove cover and add the tomatoes.
Cover and cook till the tomatoes are soft.
Remove cover and add some more water, if needed.

Now add the fish and cover again.
Simmer for around 10 minutes or more.
The gravy should get enough time to soak up the flavours of the fish.

Begun diye ilish jhol
Serve hot with steaming hot plain rice.
A fresh squirt of lemin juice and some green chillies to go with it, this makes for a perfect, light, monsoon lunch.


Enjoy!!




14 comments:

  1. Sharmila, the soupy fish curries you make are the best. I am not used to adding vegetables to fish curries but mom added some drumsticks to fish curry and it was delicious.

    Hope you are doing alright,

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  2. Thank you Indo. Bengalis do add vegetables to these light fish curries. The slightly rich ones like the kalia won't have them. At the most a potato.
    I am doing well, much thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Aha awesome. One of my most favorite dish :)

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  4. They look absloutley super delicious. How i wish i ha dany kind of fish curry.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Finla! How I wish I could send you a plate. :-)

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  5. Can imagine the taste even I would love this with dash of lemon squeezed on top

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  6. Thank you Priyanka. Yes some lemon and green chillies makes it even more perfect. :-)

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  7. Hi..

    Seeing your recepie after real long time..

    I need your help.. I have made tomato kashundi.. And though it tastes good as a dip.. Is it possible for you to share a recepie dish of vegetables using kashundi??

    Take care,
    Warm regards,
    Ash

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll try to Ash.
      I usually use it as a dressing for salads.
      How did you make tomato kashundi? Please share the recipe.

      Delete
    2. Hehe.. An expert asking a novice who follows you and bongmom to the last word..

      The recepie is same as that given by bong mom for aam kashundi.. I just added 1/2 of a medium tomato instead of aam ( I couldn't wait to try kashundi and tomato was in hand)
      One more question.. Only veggies will do in this jhol? Have to try this one ASAP

      Warm regards,
      Ash

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    3. You are an expert too Ash ... see ... I learnt tomato kasundi from you. :-)

      Actually I have made that aam kasundi from another blogger's recipe a long time back.
      It is here - http://kichukhonn.blogspot.in/2008/06/potoler-chop-stuffed-parwal.html
      Bongmom has very kindly mentioned both our links in her post.

      As for this jhol, I think you can add boris too.
      The basic aim is to keep the jhol light to be able to enjoy the unique flavour of the ilish.

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    4. Hello..
      Ur idea of boris worked fantastic..n a simple yet tasty veg version was done...

      Muaah to u and hope u come up with such many amazing recepies in the future..

      Tc and lots of warm regards
      Ash

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    5. Thank you so much Ash!
      You can try this with pumpkin+aloo too. You may add some onions to it too.

      Delete


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