Magur Maach Dalna

Magur Maach or Cat Fish is very commonly cooked all over India and as its full of Proteins, Potassium and Vitamins, its given to patients recovering from an illness. This is a simple recipe and does not have a soupy curry like Magur Maacher Jhol usually prepared in all Bengali Homes.

Preparation :

 It is advisable to buy a live fish and to get the fish cut from the market as its too slimy to handle and not at all easy to cut at home.    

Clean the fish well. Its a slimy variety and so use salt to scrub the fish pieces lightly to remove the slime.

Wash and pat dry. Coat with 1 tsp turmeric and salt. The hybrid variety is considered to be less tasty. Two middle size fish is what I bought and cut into three pieces each.

I cut the potatoes into eight equal size cubes. 

Make a Paste by grinding 2 tbsp Cumin Seeds, 1 inch ginger piece and two dry Red Chilly's (d'seeded) to a fine paste.

Grind 2  Cinnamon Bits, 2 Green Cardamoms and 2 Cloves to a fine paste. Keep aside

Method :

Heat 2 tbsp Mustard Oil in a Wok/Skillet and when smoking, carefully put the fish pieces in. It helps to put a lid while frying the fish. Keep the fried fish pieces aside.
In the same oil , add the bay leaves and cumin. When they splutter, add the potato pieces and stir fry till reddish . Then add the Ginger-Cumin-Chilly paste, 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder, Salt to taste, 4 Green Chilly( slit ) and  stir fry well. If required add a dash of water to help . When the spices are well fried, add 1/2 a cup of water and let the potatoes soften. Cook on low flame. When the potato pieces are soft, add the fish pieces and cook till the water reduces. 
Serve with Rice.

Ingredients :

 Magur Maach.........................................................................................................500 grams

 Mustard Oil (Sorsher Tel).....................................................................................2-4 tbsp

 Potato ,cubed..........................................................................................................2,large size

 Mustard Oil............................................................................................................ .2 tbsp

TurmericPowder......................................................................................................1tsp    Salt..............................................................................................................................1 tsp 

 Ginger-Cumin-Chilly Paste(Ada- Jeere-Lanka Bata )......................................2 tbsp

 Garam Masala Paste...............................................................................................1 tsp

 Desi Ghee(Gawa Ghee)...........................................................................................1 tsp

 Bay Leaves (TejPatta).............................................................................................2

 Cumin Seeds(Sada Jeere)........................................................................................1pinch

 Fresh green Chilly's..................................................................................................4