Machhere jhol (Bengali fish curry)
A delicate curry from the Bengali region of eastern India, this white fish fillet curry can be made with any flaky, white fish: Haddock, cod, tilapia, sea bass - choose your favourite, its flavour will be spiced and enhanced in a gorgeous way in this dish.
Ingredients
Serves: 4
- 2 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 480ml water
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 900g thick white fish fillets, cut into large chunks
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds (black cumin)
- 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed
- 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
Method
Prep:10min ›
Cook:20min ›
Ready in:30min
- Bring the tomatoes, cumin, turmeric, salt and water to the boil in a 4 litre saucepan; reduce heat to medium and maintain a simmer.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat; cook the fish in the oiled frying pan until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the fish to the saucepan.
- Heat a separate frying pan over medium heat, and toast the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, black cumin seeds, fennel seeds and fenugreek seeds until fragrant (just a few seconds). Stir the spices into the saucepan and simmer until the flavours integrate, about 10 minutes more. Serve hot.
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Reviews & ratings
Average global rating:
(4)
Reviews in English (4)
Needs less water and a bit more seasoning to avoid being bland. - 28 Apr 2018
Could not find black cumin seeds anywhere. I live next to one of the largest Indian merchant areas in New Jersey. No black cumin seeds to be found so I doubled up on the regular cumin seeds. Found the recipe to be a little bland so I added 1/2tsp of cayenne pepper and 1 tsp of curry powder. I used fresh thick cod filets and found them too delicate for the recipe. Next time I will use stripe bass or blackfish, All in all a pleasant flavor. - 15 Dec 2009 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)
Also made this minus the black cumin. Came out wonderful.Flavorful without being 'hot'. If most Indian food is too spicy for you then this would be a good addition to your recipe box.Think I'll try it with salmon next time. - 18 May 2013 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)