Shorshe Diye Bata Mach (Bengali recipe: Fish in Mustard Gravy)

I am a Bengali who has recently acquired the taste of fish. And I am a cook who has recently started cooking fish. In our home, fish and mutton used to be Debarshi’s specialty. However, now I have also started trying them on my own because sometimes it’s great to surprise Debarshi with his favorite curries. If you cannot connect to this emotion, just think about your favorite dish – Sushi, Hamburger, Chinese (or whatever it is). Now think, you have no idea coming home that you will be served your favorite dish for dinner! Isn’t it amazing when that happens! So yeah! I am on an adventure only this time it involves fish.

One thing you have to know is, there are many different varieties of fish in the market and they are all cooked in various ways. Frying the fish alone is a daring task because of the long lingering fishy smell. So make sure to switch on the central air or open your windows/ doors so that the fishy smell can get out.

The few fish recipes I have on my blog are cooked with either shrimp or salmon. Today we are going to discuss a totally different type of fish – Bata Mach (Bata = Labeo Bata and Mach = fish). This is a small game fish, quite popular for its taste. This fish is found throughout India (West Bengal, Odisha, Tripura etc.) and Bangladesh in ponds, rivers and rivulets. In fact, it is one of the few fishes which are found in my hometown – Allahabad. I am sure growing up; I must have been offered a bowl of fried Bata Mach dipped in a delicious mustard gravy. However, I have always had a low tolerance of mustard’s rich flavor. Even now, I take very less gravy and mix it with a lot of rice to sweeten the overall taste. However, when Debarshi’s mom cooked this dish, it was so awesome that I asked her to prepare it again so that I can take detailed notes.

In India we have quite a few options to easily make/buy mustard paste, however, here in (USA) smaller cities, you may not always find a lot of options. I don’t prefer buying groceries from amazon especially when it comes to spices. So, I try to find readymade mustard powder at my local Indian stores. The alternative is, to use seeds. Debarshi used to make a paste of mustard seeds and water using our Nutri bullet (extractor blade). He would then strain the paste and mix other ingredients in it. This time the extractor blade broke (well, it was about time) so I used the milling blade to grind the mustard seeds to a fine powder and then soaked it in water. This trick turned out so much better and this is what I will recommend.

Making a fish curry is a daunting task even if you have all the gadgets. I want to salute our mothers and grand mothers who used to do so much extra labor to cook these authentic dishes. A few decades back when food processors, Nutri bullet, food chopper, mixer and grinders weren’t as common as they are today, everything was done manually. I am sure everyone of my generation remembers a Shil Nora stacked in the corner of the kitchen. I am just thankful to science and all the advancement in technology, otherwise a lazy person like me would never have dared to step in the kitchen and cook a fish curry!

So, give this a try sometime and then post in the comments how it turned out. You can also post on my Instagram #lifewithoutalu with your photos and comments.

Ingredients:

• Bata Fish – 1 pack (24)
• Mustard Paste - 3 tablespoons
• Salt – to taste (about 1 teaspoon)
• Turmeric Powder – 1 teaspoon 
• Mustard Oil – 3 tablespoons
• Green chili -3-4
• Garlic – 3-4
• Tomato – 1 medium
• Cilantro – a handful, washed and chopped

Tips:

• Use only mustard oil to cook this otherwise it wont develop the same authentic flavor.
• You can use readymade mustard powder/ paste or if you have seeds, grind them to a fine powder in your grinder/ Nutri bullet and soak it in water. Strain before using to discard the seed skins.

Directions:

• Check to see if the fish pieces are thoroughly clean. 
• Season the fish with a little Salt (¼ teaspoon) and Turmeric Powder (about ½ teaspoon) and keep it aside for an hour.

• Next we need the Mustard paste, you can use readymade mustard powder or grind the seeds in the grinder then soak it in water to make the paste. Mix ¼ teaspoon each of Salt and Turmeric powder along with a teaspoon of Mustard Oil. Let it soak.
• Make a paste of Green chili, Garlic and Tomato.
• Now, take a big non-stick pan and heat it over medium high heat.
• Add 2 tablespoons of Mustard oil in it. 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: 

• Make sure the oil is properly heated before adding the fish. This will not only remove the pungent flavor and aroma from the oil but also prevent the fish from sticking on the pan. 
• If the oil jumps too much add a pinch of Turmeric powder in the oil and mix it properly.
• Allow the fish to fry up before turning it. Do not disturb the fish before one side is fully done otherwise it will stick on the pan.
• 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). 
• Turn on the central air and vents.

• When the fish looks golden and fried, transfer it to a plate and keep it aside. 
• Now reduce the heat to low and add the Green chili, Garlic and Tomato paste in it.
• Increase the heat to medium and fry the paste well.

• When the paste looks fried and reddish in color (and the oil starts to separate), add the mustard paste. Mix well.
• Reduce the heat to medium low and fry the mixture till oil separates.
• Now adjust the Salt.
• Add about 1 ½ cups of Water and bring to a boil.
• Add the fried fish, reduce the heat to low and cook till the gravy thickens.
• Sprinkle chopped Cilantro and serve with hot steamed rice.

Love Bengali food? Try these dishes as well:

• Urad Dal Bengali Style (Biulir dal/ White Lentils Soup)
• Moonger dal (Yellow Lentils soup)
• Arhar Dal (Toor Dal or Split Yellow Pigeon Peas Soup)
• Cholar Dal (Bengali recipe: Chana Dal/ Split Bengal gram)
• Sweet Masoor Dal (Red Lentils Bengali style)
• Panch Bhaja (Crispy Deep Fried Vegetables)
• Kopi Alur Chochchori (Bengali recipe: Stir fried Cauliflower with Potatoes)
• Chochchori (Bengali style mixed vegetables)
• Saag Bhaja (Bengali style Stir-fried Spinach)
• Kancha Posto (Bengali recipe: Raw Poppy Seeds Paste)
• Alu Posto (Bengali recipe: Potatoes with Poppy Seeds)
• Chanar Dalna (Bengali recipe: Fresh Cheese and Potato Curry)
• Niramish Alur Dom (Potato Gravy Without Onion and Garlic)
• Luchi – Deep Fried Puffed Bread
• Mangshor Jhol (Bengali Style Mutton Curry)
• Mutton Rezala (Bengali recipe: Tender Meat in Cashew Poppy Seed sauce)
• Doi Mach (Bengali Recipe: Succulent Fried Fish in Yogurt Gravy)
• Chingri Malai Curry (Shrimp Curry with Coconut Milk)
• Plum Chutney
• Kacha Aamer Ombol (Bengali chutney with Unripe Mango)
• Ilish Macher Matha/ Muro Diye Dal (Yellow Lentils with Fish Head)
• Bhapa Ilish
• Bengali Tomato Chatni (chutney) With Dried Fruits
• Egg Curry (Bengali recipe: Fried Eggs curry)