Doi Mach (Bengali Recipe: Succulent Fried Fish in Yogurt Gravy)

Photo Courtesy: Dr. Debarshi Chatterji

Bengalis are known for their love of fish. Bhat (steamed rice), Dal (lentils soup) with Mach Bhaja (crispy fried fish) or Bhat and Macher Jhal (fish curry with mustard paste) are the common lunch menu items in most Bengali families. Fish is also considered auspicious in the Bengali households and is served during weddings and other special occasions when it is not only bought to prepare the aromatic curries but also given as a gift. Yes! it will be interesting to know that there is a ceremony on the day of Bengali weddings called Gaye Holud in which the groom’s family members bring turmeric, fish and desserts for the bride and her family members. They also bring wedding presents and jewelry for the bride. The fish is considered to be the status symbol of the groom’s family and hence you will see huge fishes decorated with pan (beetle leaf) and sometimes custom made jewelry and clothes! Gaye Holud is celebrated by applying a paste of turmeric on the bride by all the married ladies of the family. It is a fun festive way to prepare and welcome a maiden to married life. The fish brought by the groom’s family is then cut and prepared as a main course dish.

Photo shows: Fish decorated with jewelry and clothes for the Gaye Holud ceremony

Now, as you know I have never been a huge fan of eating fish however, after coming to the U.S, I started trying out new foods and realized that I love fish but I am just a bit selective when it comes to dishes prepared with fish. I started with Grilled Fish and gradually progressed to other dishes like Sushi. Bengali cuisine is known for its varieties of delicious fish curries and there are quite a few dishes which suit my palate. First is, of course the Fish Curry prepared by my mom and the second is Doi Mach prepared by Debarshi and if you are like me, you will love Doi Mach. Since the fish is first fried in oil it develops a beautiful color and mouth watering taste.  After frying the fish, that same oil is reused to fry the ginger and garlic and I think this adds even more flavor to the gravy. Then this mixture is added to the yogurt marinade which helps to develop the flavors even more. There is only one important part of this dish and that is to have the correct consistency of onion. As per Debarshi, the onion should be cut finely preferably grated. Now I know grating an onion is difficult so last time we used the food chopper to cut the onion and it produced very similar result. Just make sure to run long pulses which will cut the pieces very finely. Finally, we will fry the onion in Ghee (clarified butter) and add the fish along with the marinade in it. Give it 20-30 minutes and it will be ready!

The flavor of Doi Mach is slightly tart due to the yogurt, it is also a bit spicy due to the addition of green chilies and Garam masala. The fish tastes succulent with the perfect texture and all the amazing flavors of the gravy. Ideally this dish is prepared with Rohu fish but all we got was Salmon so we made do with it. Now Salmon may start breaking after being cooked so handle it very carefully.

We enjoyed the Doi Mach with hot steamed rice and afterwards took a nice long afternoon nap. Sunday is a day of rest and it should be enjoyed with good food. So this weekend, try this beautiful fish gravy.

Ingredients:

• Fish (preferably Rohu or try Salmon) – 1 ½ - 2 pounds, cut into 1-inch-thick pieces, washed and dressed
• Salt – ½ teaspoon for the fish marinade + about ½ teaspoon for the yogurt sauce
• Plain Yogurt – ¾ cup
• Mustard Oil – ½ - 1 cup for frying the fish
• Garam Masala – ¼ teaspoon
• Ginger - 2-inch
• Garlic – 3
• Green Chilies - 3-4
• Ghee - 2-3 tablespoons (or as required)
• Onion – ½ of a big onion, grated
• Sugar – ½ teaspoon (optional)

Let’s do some preparations first:

• In a bowl take the fish pieces and sprinkle about ½ teaspoon of Salt on them.
• Mix them together and leave them to marinate for an hour.
• Make a paste of Ginger, Garlic and Green Chilies (Tip: Use Nutri Bullet with the Extractor blade).

Directions to prepare the Yogurt sauce:

• Take a big bowl and add the Yogurt in it. 
• Whip it with a fork. 
• Add Salt (½ teaspoon), Sugar with a little water (about ¼ cup) and mix well.

Let’s fry the fish:

• Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat.
• Add the Oil in it and when it begins to smoke, reduce the heat to medium low so that it cools off. This is done to remove the pungent taste and smell of the Mustard Oil.
• Increase the heat to medium and carefully add a few fish pieces. Do not over crowd the skillet and fry in a single layer. 

Tips: 

• Use a good non stick skillet to prevent the fish from sticking on it.
• Add no more than 3-4 pieces at a time. 
• Use a splatter screen to cover the skillet. It blocks the oil from sputtering all over the gas oven. (A splatter screen is a fine mesh with a handle and you can see through the mesh and fry the fish).

• Shallow fry the fish till it turns golden brown. We do not want to cook it through or burn it too much, just sear it lightly on all sides.

If you are frying Salmon: 

• Place the fish, skin-side up in the pan.  
• Cook until golden brown on 1 side, about 4 minutes.  
• Turn the fish over with a spatula, and cook until it feels firm to the touch and the skin is crisp, about 3 minutes more. 

• Add the fried fish pieces carefully in the yogurt. When all the pieces have been fried, fry the Ginger, Garlic and Green Chilies paste in the remaining oil.
• Transfer the paste along with the oil in the yogurt.
• Let the fish sit in the yogurt for 15-20 minutes. This will help the fish to absorb all the beautiful flavors from the marinade.

(Photo shows: Fried fish dipped in the marinade)

Directions to prepare the Yogurt gravy:

• Heat a big wok over medium heat.
• Add Ghee in it.
• After a few seconds, add the grated Onion in the ghee and fry.

(Photo shows the texture of the grated onion)

• Grated onion will ooze out a lot of water but make sure to stir occasionally.
• Fry till the Onion is golden brown in color. 
• Add the Yogurt sauce with the fish. Transfer it very carefully in the wok otherwise the fish may break.
• Cover and turn down the heat to low.
• Add the Garam Masala, stir to mix.
• Keep cooking for 10-15 minutes or until the oil separates and the gravy and fish is well cooked.

(Photo shows the separation of oil from the gravy. Notice the change in the color of the gravy, it will be a beautiful rich golden yellow)

• Taste the Salt, add if required. Cover and simmer for 10 more minutes.
• Serve the dish hot with steamed rice.

Tips:

• We are frying the fish on a high flame in a nonstick pan, so that we can get a nice color and texture on the fish. We don’t want it to cook all the way. 
• Do not use Greek yogurt. Plain yogurt is best for this dish.
• Do not use Tilapia fish for this dish.
• Ideally the fish should be fried in mustard oil, but feel free to use Canola oil. No need to heat up the Canola oil to a smoking point.
• The ghee should be enough to fry the onions. If you want the dish to be low calorie or don’t want to add 2-3 tablespoons of Ghee, you can use oil to fry the onions and add one teaspoon of ghee at the end for fragrance.
• We always fry the fish on our grill’s side burner. When cooked inside, its strong smell lingers inside the house so make sure to open a window or switch on the vent or air before frying.
• Use raisins to make the dish more presentable.

Tip: You can also enjoy Doi Mach on Keto Diet. Just skip the sugar while cooking and serve with zucchini rice.

Recommended Reading:

• Garam Masala
• Grilled Salmon with Shrimp and Peppers
• Food Chopper and its Importance in Our Kitchen
• Nutri Bullet – now cook gourmet foods whenever you want
• Indian Salad
• Pan Fried Salmon
• Make Homemade Ghee from Spoiled Cream
• Arhar Dal (Toor Dal or Split Yellow Pigeon Peas Soup)
• Kacha Aamer Ombol (Bengali chutney with Unripe Mango)
• Shorshe Diye Bata Mach (Bengali recipe: Fish in Mustard Gravy)
• Ilish Macher Matha/ Muro Diye Dal (Yellow Lentils with Fish Head)
• Bhapa Ilish
• Bengali Tomato Chatni (chutney) With Dried Fruits

Doing Low Carb diet? Try these as well:

• Keto Garlic Naan
• Low Carb Ajwain Paratha with Coconut Flour