Jeere baata diye Ilish macher paatla jhol

I haven't been lucky enough to be able to cook Ilish this year. But do have a lot of photos and recipes languishing in my folders.
I was actually waiting for the season to be able to post them. Posting them on any other time of the year makes no sense, at least to me, when you cannot try them out, no matter how sincerely you want to.

When I looked into the folder where I had typed out this recipe in a hurry, when I had made this last to last year, the first line I saw was this -   ilisher jhol ( my way .. tried , good)
:-) 


The jhol turns out to be very light, fragrant with the distinct smell of jeera / cumin and the Ilish.
As with my other light jhol recipes, this too needs to be simmered for a longish time for the ilish to soak up the flavours of the jeera.
And also for the jhol to soak up the flavours of the ilish.

The taste and flavour of roasted jeera is very different from raw jeera.
So do not even try to think of substituting the raw jeera with it. 

I have tried adding chopped dhone pata / coriander leaves at the end too.
And loved it.

So if you are a purist and already screaming sacrilege, I'd say go ahead. But after that, give this a try.
No, you do not have to come back to say you liked it.
I know you will.
:-)

 Need :

For the Jeera paste : -
Jeera / Cumin seeds - around 5 tbsp, soak for around 3 hours
Ginger - 1 and ½" piece
Whole red chillies - 4 (if you like spicy then use around 6 or 7)
Tomato - 2 medium sized

For the jhol : -
Ilish / Hilsa - 4 pieces , lightly fried
Mustard oil - around 3 tbsp
Haldi / Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp (optional)
Salt - to taste
Water - enough for gravy
Lemon - half

How to :

Make a smooth paste of the jeera+ginger+red chillies+tomato.
(If you feel it is too much in quantity, use some and freeze the rest. You can use it later. )


Heat the oil in a kadahi.

Now add the jeera paste and fry well till the raw smell is gone.

Add the haldi and the red chilli powder.
Fry well till dryish and oil starts to leave the sides.

Add water and salt.
Cover and bring to a boil.
Lower heat and simmer for around 3 minutes.

Add the fried Ilish / Hilsa pieces.
Squeeze in the lemon lightly.

Cover and let it simmer for a good 10 minutes.
The oil will float on the top.

Done!
Remove from heat.

A very light Ilisher jhol, fragrant with the combination of jeera and ilish,  is ready.
Serve hot with plain, steamed rice.

Enjoy!!

Khichu with Rice flour / Savoury porridge with Rice flour

 "How to make kechu with 2 cups of rice flour"

This was one of the search lines that  showed up on my blog.
At first, I was intrigued ... thought maybe it meant 'kichu'. But how would anyone make kichu , that too with rice flour?
A query on my fb page also did not yield any result. Except for one blogger friend who mentioned it is "khichu" and a kind of rice porridge. No recipe.
So I called up Mummy, my mother in law.
Being a Rajasthani, she'd surely know.

"Woh hum Saajaa banate hain na beta, bilkul wahi cheez hai. Buss, yeh chawal ke atte se banti hai", she said.
Sajaa!!! Of course!
It has been ages since I made Saja last. So had almost forgotten about it.
But does it have the same ingredients?
"Haan, wahi jeera, hing , mirchaa aur tel".
Hmmm ...

I was not too satisfied. Sounded too easy.
So searched the net. And found two kinds of recipes.
One, with hing, like Mummy said. Another with garlic.
One recipe mentioned boiling the garlic paste. Another mentioned frying it and adding as a tempering before serving.
I know how to make with hing since I am used to making the Sajaa.
So decided on the latter one ... fried garlic being one of my favourite things in food.
That I had run out of hing was just a coincidence.

 The Khichu is made from different kinds of flour like the rice, makke ka atta ( corn meal ), jowar and bajri flour. Some temper it after making it; others temper the oil first and then add the flour to the boiling water.
Both ways are equally good.
The texture is soft and smooth and it has a good hint of spice due to the red chilli powder and green chillies.
I added a little lemon juice and that brought out the flavours all the more.
I also added some baking powder for some softness ... I don't add it when making the sajaa but was unsure of how the rice flour would behave.

This was quick to make and made for a good breakfast, just as the Saajaa does.

Need :

Rice flour - Half cup
Water - 3 cups ( use the same cup )
Garlic - chopped , around 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Soda bi carb - a pinch
Baking powder - ½ tsp
Oil - 4 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Lemon juice - 3 tsp 
Fresh coriander leaves

How to :

Heat around 2 tbsp oil in a pan.
Add the garlic and fry on low heat till it turns just brown.
Turn off heat and add the chopped green chillies. Stir well. 
Keep aside.

Take a deep kadahi or pan.
Pour in the water + red chilli powder + salt + soda bi carb + baking powder + 2 tbsp oil.
Cover and bring to a boil.
Add the lemon juice and boil on low heat for around a minute.
Add the rice flour slowly, stirring all the while.
Mix in the rice flour well, making sure there are no lumps.
Keep stirring till all water is soaked up and the rice flour is well cooked.
Make sure to hold a cover to shield yourself as the paste will tend to bubble up and burst.
It should take around 3 to 4 minutes for the whole thing to cook well and dry up.  

You can see the texture of the insde in this photo.

"Sajaa!!! Nana ji banate thhey!"
This was what B said after tasting a spoonful.
And I knew I was on the right track.

Serve the Khichu  hot with a sprinkle of fresh coriander leaves and the fried garlic and a little oil from the same.
Enjoy !!!

Rui Maach Bhaja / How to fry Rohu fish

 It happens every year. Year after year. 
And it has happened again.
Every year .... when I'm blogging, I'll discount the numerous days when I'm not ... I see bloggers all over  celebrating their blog's b'day.
They bake awesome cakes.
Or make Biryanis.
Or some such exotic things that I may never get to cook ... much less taste.
They organise events and giveaways.
And the whole blogging world celebrates with them.
Their blog gets good wishes and love. And the blogger gets kudos for being able to keep going for so long ... etc. etc.
And I promise myself ... next year I'll celebrate Kichu Khonn's b'day ... for sure.
I even think up a write and also what I'll cook.
Chicken? No ... it has to be something special. Mutton. Or prawns.
And I'll bake something too.
And sit back smugly ... happy with my scheme.
And watch the year flow by.
And then one fine day I sit up with a jolt. "What date is today??????"
And there it will be ... a date way past the b'day date.
And I'm filled with remorse .... for having let Kichu Khonn down ... all over again.

 This year is no different. I realised yesterday that I've repeated the heinous crime. 
I said a quiet 'sorry'. Kichu Khonn replied a quiet ' it's alright'.
But I still couldn't write a post.
Today, I finally gathered myself and sat down to write a post.

Considering I haven't clicked too many photographs recently, I had to decide on my old photos.
And saw this fried fish photographs.
What pushed me to make a post on this is 3 different emails and a few search lines that I got to see over the past few months.
For a 'new to cooking' Bengali, making the maacher jhol is the first most important test in the kitchen.
But even before that, s/he has to fry the fish first.
And that can be quite a challenge.
Yes, even if you have that non stick kadahi.

A comment said "I tried to make macher jhol but the fish broke when I was frying it. Can you tell me how to fry it properly?"
The emails asked for the same thing ... "Why did the fish break when frying?"
The search lines say " How to fry Rohu fish without breaking"

In all these questions, I heard that plaintive cry many years back .... "Didi, all the fish broke and have stuck to the kadahi. The mess wouldn't come off and the kadahi is all brown  .... what do I do?"

I had my cousin to my rescue. Many people turn to the internet for help.
Something that most of us take for granted can be extremely complicated for newbies in the kitchen.
Hence, this post is for all those struggling to fry the Rohu or the Katla fish  to make that jhol or kalia.

If you are buying the fish ... keep the following in mind.

Firstly, something that I've always said in my answers , the fish has to be fresh.
I mean as fresh as a frozen fish can be since we do not get freshly caught fish these days.
So, to get an idea on how fresh a fish is ... always look at the eye of the fish.
It should be bright and not dull / pale and whitish in colour.
Secondly ... the body of the fish should be firm. When pressed with a finger, it should not get a dimple.
Thirdly ... when cut, there should be enough blood. Sounds gross ... but that is the best way to know if a fish is fresh or not.

Get the fish cut into your preferred pieces ... the peti or the gada.

The peti has thicker and less bones that are easy to pick.
It is usually used in simple jhols/curries. Children usually get this piece on their plates as it is easy to deal with.

The gada will have finer and more bones. 
It is mostly used in jhaals, kalias ... the spicy dishes that usually are not served to very small children.
It is also used in jhols.

Or into plain rings like my photos show, which will have a combination of both the peti and gada parts.

Now to the frying part.

Need :

Pieces of the Rohu or Kaatla fish - cut and washed well
Turmeric powder
Mustard oil
Salt
Lemon juice (optional ... but helps in reducing the smell of raw fish)

How to :

Marinate the fish pieces with the salt, turmeric and lemon juice and keep aside.
Do not keep the marinated fish for more than half an hour ... maximum of an hour.
If needed to keep longer, keep it in the refrigerator.


Take a heavy bottomed kadahi ... preferably a cast iron one.
Many would prefer to use a non stick one ... no problem with that.

 I use a flat bottomed non stick pan to reheat the already fried pieces.

Sit the kadahi on low flame and heat it well.
 Now add around 5 tbsp of mustard oil and spread it all over with the help of a spatula.
The sides of the inside of the kadahi should get coated well with the oil.
(Do not use a wooden spatula ... a steel one works best with an iron kadahi).

On low heat, let the oil heat till you can smoke from it.
With the spatula, gently smear the heated oil on the sides on the inside of the kadahi  again.
Now the kadahi is properly seasoned and will work as a non stick.

Now raise heat.
Holding a cover with one hand ready, pick a piece of the marinated fish and gently slide it into the hot oil and immediately cover it.
Be very careful ... the hot oil will splutter ... so use the cover to shield yourself.

Do not add more than 2 or 3 pieces at a time .... the fish will stick to each other and will be very difficult to separate and turn them later.

Now raise heat and let it fry for around 2 minutes.

Lower heat, remove cover and very carefully and gently turn the pieces over.
Cover and let it cook for 2 more minutes.

Remove cover, raise heat to medium and  gently bring one piece to the side of the kadahi and hold for a while for the extra oil to drain.
Remove all the pieces likewise and keep on aside.

For the next batch, let the remaining oil heat a little more. Or if you need you can add more oil.
Remove any leftover residue from the first batch with the spatula .... the oil should be debri free.
Continue in the same way for the rest of the fish pieces.

If you want a crispy fry to eat as a plain bhaja, you can keep the fish in the kadahi for some more time after removing the cover ... till one side turns dark brown. Turn it over and brown the other side too.

When frying the mudo / muro / fish head, be extra careful as it will splutter a lot.
Keep it covered when frying, at all times.
Fry the inside part lightly so as not to burn the soft meat.

You can fry small fish also the same way.

So here's the Maach bhaja ... hope this helps all of you who have been struggling to make it. 

Use the fried pieces to make a plain jhol, the kalia jhol or the jhaal.
( Recipe links at the bottom of this post.)

Or eat it  plain as a side with rice and dal.

I love it crispy and fresh off the kadahi with some onions and green chillies.


And thank you everybody for staying with Kichu Khonn and for your encouragement and love.
Thank you everybody who care to take time and leave comments here.
Also a thank you to those who don't, yet have landed on my blog and found it useful.

A special thanks to all my blogger friends who have stood by me and Kichu Khonn ... through thick and thin. It is for you that Kichu Khonn gets to see a b'day every year.
Thank you all!!!


Here's a list of Macher jhol or Macher jhal that you can make with this fried fish 

Rui macher kalia jhol 

Rui macher patla jhol 

Rui macher jhol dhone pata ar winter er sobji diye

Shorshe Rui  / Rui macher jhaal

Shorshe Katla bhaape