Bata Maacher Jhaal

Sorshe Bata Diye Bata Maacher Jhal

Bata Maach was Boro Mama's favourite . My late uncle in law (Mama Sosur mosai )  lived in Jamshedpur for long.  His house (L4 Quarters) was right next to Azad Market.  He bought fresh fish from there.

He had this early morning habit of going to fetch pure milk for the day , from "Gowala" 

(its Go-wa-la) the milkman and then going for a walk round the colony. 

On most days after his morning tea he went fish-shopping, bag in hand. Most Bengali's have a different bag for each - different for milk, different for fish and different for vegetables.

You can cook with onions and tomatoes like my mamima cooked but I choose the mustard paste way this time ,which my mama sosur mosai loved. Now he choose the freshest of fish and loved it to be simple.

Make a fine paste of 2 tbsp Mustard with water , 2 green chilly's ,a pinch of salt and then strain it. What we  want to do here is remove the husk . Keep aside.

Clean 6 pieces of fish and pat dry. Coat with some turmeric powder and salt.

Heat 4 tbsp Mustard Oil in a wok and fry the fish.

Now , strain and use the rest of the oil for the gravy cooking or use a 

fresh wok and add fresh mustard oil.

In hot oil , add a pinch of Nigella seeds and 4 slit green chillies.
Stir a bit and add the fish pieces. Also add the mustard paste , 1 tsp turmeric powder and salt as per taste.
Add enough water to make gravy. 
Put a lid and cook till the fish is soft. Fish cooks very quick. Remove the lid and add 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves.

In this dish, we need a little gravy but not too much. Mama preferred some gravy to eat with rice .
Plain White Rice is served with this Jhaal.

In Kolkata, we get a large variety, but in Jamshedpur many varieties  were not available.





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