Koi Koi

Heading on to my 2nd post and of course one more bengali cuisine- Shorshe Mach ( Mustard Fish).

Last weekend my hubby S wanted to eat some bangla fish, so he decided to go to the Bangladeshi fish market and bought Koi Mach. I was just feeling like shorshe too and had soaked some shorshe for grinding. I generally mix the Yellow and Black mustard to just stabilise the zing and sharpness. And of course this make the digestion a little easier. I must admit the real bongs could strongly oppose this as it would reduce the shorsher Jhaanch..but I can blame being on NRI status for many years now, the stomach has also converted to more gentle handling...whatever!! right!! And of course my little boy can also happily and yummily enjoy this milder version of shorshe. So if you want the strong version go for the Black mustard on its own.  Another option could be also the easy but equally tasty one- Sunrise Mustard Powder. Ok I think I had enough of shorshe discussion..lets get to the fish now.

Thanks to my helper A, she cleaned the fish for me and also related to a Philippine version- called it a small Telapia. Honestly, I had no clue, looked very much Koi to me and was written Koi too. Of course, hubby S is brilliant in choosing fish and I trust him ..after all the love for fish and varieties of fish also evolved in me only after S came in my life. I still remember those newly wed days in Australia, when S bought Salmon for the first time and yes that was me standing with a big question mark!!!Phew!! How do I cook this?  This was 10 years ago..and then the story started and an increasing love for fish and cooking varieties of fish...Thanks to S again for this.

So here goes my recipe for shorshe koi
on a Saturday afternoon with Gorom bhaat and Bhaja Mooger Daal.

Ingredients-

Whole Koi Fish- 7 -8 pieces ( of course I had to give 1 fried fish straight from the pan to S)

Mustard Paste- 5 Tbsp 

Yoghurt - 3 tbsp

Ginger-2 tsp

Black Cumin-1tsp

Turmeric-1tsp

Cumin Powder - 1tsp

Chillies-5-6

Fresh Coriander Leaves- a bunch

Mustard Oil 

Salt  to taste

How I Made-

I rubbed the cleaned Fish with salt , turmeric and some Mustard oil. Now this is something which I learnt from my mum, this oil will stop from any accidents like oil splutters when I fry the fish.

After about 15 minutes, I fried the fish in Mustard oil, nicely on both sides. Then I took the fish out and put in on a plate

In a bowl, I added mustard paste, yoghurt, turmeric, ginger, salt, cumin powder. If you want you can add chilli powder too. Mix this into a paste, if required add water. 

Then I heated the pan with the leftover oil from frying . I added Black Cumin and chillies to the hot oil. Then I added the ginger and stirred. To this, I added the spice paste and mixed nicely.

I added some water to boil the spice. I add hot water for continuous cooking. Then cover the pan and let it cook on slow flame. 

After a nice boil, I added the fried fish and the fresh chillies and covered again. I let it cook for about 10 minutes, until I see the oil separating a bit. It should not be runny gravy though (special instructions from S- makha makha)

To this I added few drops of mustard oil which gives that special aroma and sprinkled coriander leaves generously.

Plate this on a flat serving dish and enjoy ...

Misthi Mukh

I am sure this is an inner bong instinct in me..." Misthi Mukh  kore shuru koro"...(Initiate any work with a sweet in your mouth) and hence I am starting my blog with this Yoghurt recipe. And Ma ( mum) being my inspiration in all the experimentation I do in my kitchen...this is a hands down inherited recipe from her....Thank you Ma.I still remember umpteen number of times she has tried to persuade me to make my own Doi or more easily understood ghore pata doi..( bengali version of Yoghurt). Those childhood days after lunch, we were always given a bati of doi ( bowl of yoghurt) with sugar sprinkled. Of course as the yoghurt was sour. Then Ma starting mixing the sugar when boiling the milk..and it was her version of Mishthi Doi (Sweet Yoghurt). And when I started my own sansar ( my family and probably what I mean that I was the main one responsible to feed my hubby and son), Yoghurt was readily available in the supermarkets. And that too with so many choices..full fat, half fat, 99% fat free..etc..and not to mention the vivid flavours to choose from. Hence I refused to prepare the Homemade version. Even Ma used to give in when she visited as she also relished the flavours available in the supermarket aisles. Of course the full fat ones were always the most favourite...Now that I have all the time in my hands and I saw ma preparing the yoghurt very closely. I really sneaked into the kitchen and told myself.."C'mon let me try..Good use of so much extra milk I have in the fridge". And to motivate myself , I even bought this lovely piece of Handi( A round ceramic pot) which is perfect to set the yoghurt. And since then I am actually regularly preparing the yoghurt. I have stopped buying them from the shops. I have made different versions ..used Patali Gur(Jaggery from dates), used raw sugar and sometimes plain without sugar. This yoghurt, mind you does not remain as thick as it is when set initially. Once you do the first scoop of the yoghurt to serve, then there is some water retention in the handi. I know I have passed as my son R loved it at the first try.