Aloo Begun ar Amchur diye Tyangra macher Shorshe jhal

It has been a crazy week since my last post. Traveling and exploring new places can be tiring.
But what drains you most is the aftermath.
Setting the house and the kitchen back to normal, replenishing the fridge and the pantry, buy green groceries, wash and dry them, then load the fridge .... it is a never ending job.
And to top all this is the unpacking part and worse, the laundry.

I hardly got the time to rest even for a while ... the whole days and evenings were spent on all this as well as thinking of whatever light food I can rustle up for the man ... Kolkata street food had played its role well. So I had to cook soft boiled rice and all kinds of boiled vegetables, mash them up and tried my best to make them look edible.
Mind you ... boiled veggies are our favourite ... all those makhas .... potatoes, brinjals, okras, sweet potatoes, ridge gourd .... all boiled and mashed up with a littler salt and either ghee or mustard oil and sometimes a good dose of lemon juice .... pure bliss on a plate. 
But the real task lies in making it look good.

Anyway .... to cut a long story short ... that is what I have been doing all through this week. And also cooking for myself. Makha and all is all very good ... but I needed normal food too. Read fish.
Even though I was in Kolkata, I hardly got to eat much fish.
Just prawns one day and some other fish another day. That's all.
I needed simple, home cooked maacher jhol badly.

So among all the above mentioned chores and more, I gave my fish wala  a call one evening. Asked him if he had Tyangra and prawns. Rohu and Katla he will have anyway. He said yes and we left for his shop immediately ... he sets up his stall at a place that is at least 20 kms or more from our place.
Had asked him to keep aside some Tyangra and prawns for me.
It is another thing that he had some very good Mourala too. I got half a kilo of big sized Rohu too.
So, my freezer is packed to the gills right now.

I had made this jhaal in a slightly confused mode. Just threw in a little of this and that ... had no idea where I was going. Opened the freezer and saw some frozen mustard paste ... added that too.
And a handful of my home made boris ( you must have seen the photos on my blog page on FB ).
Also ... I have this thing about Amchur ... or dried mango pieces.
If I am making anything with mustard paste, I tend to add some. Absolutely love that taste.
My Thamma used to do that ... so maybe I got it from her.
Turned out pretty good. Good enough to make a post on it.

I had been trying to make some time to write this post, unsuccessfully.
Till now.
B wanted to cook dinner tonight. And I got this much needed time.
The big lot of books that I have got from the Book Fair have been tempting me.
But right now I am ignoring them well and good.
Not for long, I know, though.

So while B is rustling up some Aloo baingan and rotis, I am ensconced in my favourite sofa, typing away.
I have made some Dahi vadas in the afternoon. So looking forward to dinner time as the smell of hot rotis waft through the house right now.

But the recipe first.

Need :

Fresh Tyangra fish - 6 pieces, cleaned and marinated with salt + turmeric powder
Potatoes - 1 medium sized, sliced lengthwise
Brinjal - 1 medium sized, sliced lengthwise
Mustard paste - 2 tbsp
Amchur pieces - 2, or depending on how tart you like your food
Bori - 6 pieces, lightly fried in mustard oil
Kalo jeere / Nigella seeds - a pinch
Haldi / Turmeric powder
Dry red chillies - 2, broken
Oil to cook - I use mustard oil
Salt - to taste
Sugar - a pinch

How to :

Heat mustard oil in a heavy kadahi.
Lightly fry the fish and keep aside.

If needed add some more oil. Add the nigella seeds and the chillies.
Add the potatoes and fry on high heat for a while.
Now add the brinjals and turmeric powder. Fry well.

Add salt and a little water.
Cover and cook till the vegetables are done.
Remove cover and add some more water. Check for salt.

Add the mustard paste, the bories, the amchur pieces and the fish.
Add the sugar.
Pour around a tbsp of mustard oil all over.

Cover and bring to a boil.
Simmer for a while.
Remove from heat and let it stand for around five minutes.

Sprinkle some fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with plain rice.
The tauk, jhaal combined with the pungent mustard paste is to die for. If you are a Bengali, you will know what I mean. :-)

Enjoy!!


One another note, I have been busy with some more handiworks.
I made this skirt yesterday.
You will find the details here, on my other blog.

C'ya around folks!

Tyangra Maacher jhol / Tangra fish curry

 

I am beat. Drained. Exhausted.
Not an ounce of energy left to face another day. This after spending the last four days in an almost vacation mode. Less cooking, lesser eating, even lesser dishes.
We are vagabonds and live like nomads. Two people, with no routine to bind them. No time bound goals in everyday life. Flying or lazying on with time.
Every day is set on our time, our rules.
Every evening revolves around our plans and our menus.

Till we have guests.
Even then things go on quite leisurely.
But if the people visiting are your parents, then the whole thing becomes a different story altogether.

You have to be time bound; follow routines.
You have to follow a certain diet.
You have to have breakfasts and lunches .... the brunch word does not exist for them.
You have your evening tea at four in the after noon ... does not matter if the sun is on in full blast outside and you have had lunch just two hours earlier.
Nah ... you have to respect time.
And all the while get peppered with how indisciplined our life is.
And how acidity and numerous other ailments are waiting just around the corner .... waiting to pounce on us as soon as we touch forty.

I have been a good girl the last so many days.
I have bit my tongue numerous times over, obediently chewed on rotis twice a day during mealtimes, did not mention the word 'rice' even once, took in hing in every dish just as I would take salt.
And held my peace.

But no more.
Three days back, I finally broke an egg and poached it for a wonderfully filling breakfast ... even before their plane had even taxied off the runway.

I am not complaining.
Just heaving a sigh of relief at seeing a good stock of eggs, fish and chicken back in my fridge.
And at the fact that I can finally make a post too.

 I make this thin, light jhol very often.
The best way to bring out the flavours of the Tyangra fish. complemented with the flavour of the fresh coriander leaves and the very unique, freshly ground black pepper powder.
This fish is great when made into a jhaal with mustard paste, but there are times when you would rather settle for a light curry to go with some steamed rice.
Especially during the summers.
And this is perfect for a light, summer lunch.

Didi had once made this for lunch, her mom in law's recipe. I had loved it then for the easy recipe ... the novice cook in me was relieved to be able to cook some fish. I love it now because it is the lightest of all jhols and has the minimum of ingredients. Helps to bring out the flavours of the fresh tyangra, that is usually not possible when it is dunked in a gravy full of masalas or even just the mustard paste.

I had made a post on this way back when I was a new blogger.
This is also one of those rare recipes where I use the tomato. I do not like adding tomatoes to recipes due to the fact that they do not add any flavour at all to the dishes .... being the hybrid variety.

Need :

Tyangra or the Tangra fish - 6 pieces , cleaned and marinated in a little turmeric powder and salt
Kalaunji (kalo jeera / nigella seeds)  - 1 tsp
Fresh green chillies - 3 to 4
Onions - 2, medium sized, chopped
Tomato - 1, chopped
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp ( I use Mustard oil )
Haldi / turmeric powder - 1 tbsp
Freshly ground black pepper powder - 1 tbsp
Fresh coriander (dhania) leaves  - chopped,
Water


How to :

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadahi till smoking hot.
Fry the fish well on both sides.
I fry it till crisp on the sides; you can fry it lightly too. 
Remove and keep aside.

Add 1 tbsp of oil to the same kadahi and add the kalo jeere.
Add the broken green chillies.

Next add the chopped onions and fry till translucent. Do not brown them.

Add the chopped tomatoes, haldi and salt.
 Fry well till the tomatoes turn into mush.

Raise heat, add enough water. Check for salt.
Lower heat, cover and let it boil for around 5 minutes.

Remove cover and add the fish.
Add the black pepper powder and the coriander leaves.

Cover and simmer for around 5 more minutes.

Serve hot with steamed rice.
Makes for a perfect summer lunch. Or even dinner.

Enjoy!!