Sunday, June 25, 2006

Koi Macher jhol (Koi Fish Curry)

Koi Mach or Gangetic Koi is also known as Climbing Gouramie. It belongs to the perch family. (Perhaps the sporty cousin of the kissing gouramie??). This is one of my favorite fish dishes ever. And I have never cooked it myself. Never had to. Ma and K (our temepermental cook) have always obliged. K dictated this recipe to R who then emailed it to me. (Its a bit different from the other koi recipes available on the net, the most common being tel koi or koi in oil).

Koi is widely available. So do try this one. I guarantee that you won't be disappointed.

You will need:
Koi 1 kilo
Potato 1 large
Turmeric powder 1 heaped tsp
Cumin seed 1 tsp
Cumin powder 1 tsp (made into a paste with a little water)
Coriander powder 1& 1/2 tsp (made into a paste with a little water)
Bay Leaf 2
Ginger grated 1 tsp
Salt
Sugar
Water 2 cups
Coriander leaves
Oil for frying

How to:

1. Ask the fish seller to de-gill the fish. Smear salt on fish
and wash well.
2. Drain. Smear 2 tsp salt and 1 heaped tsp turmeric on the fillet
and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Slice the potato lengthwise into sections.
4. In a wok / kadai heat 1/2 cup oil to smoking.
5. Medium fry the fish (if required in batches) and set aside.



6. In the same kadai, add the cumin seeds, bay leaves.
7. When the cumin seeds start crackling, add the potato sections
and stir.
8. Add 1tsp cumin paste, 1 tsp coriander paste, a little turmeric,
1 tsp ginger paste, a little salt and a pinch sugar.
9. Stir well and fry a bit.
10. Add the water.
11. After two minutes add the fried fish and cover.
12. Cook for 5-7 minutes or till potatoes have softened and fish
well soaked in gravy.
13. Add the coriander leaves remove from fire.
14. This curry has to be eaten with steamed rice (a must).

Note: K prefers to take cumin grains, grind them using a shil patha (a stone block with fine carvings to aid in the grinding. The spices are ground using another stone not unlike in shape to a rolling pin - also carved - but smaller). Same for coriander. I, on the other hand, would have little qualms of using powdered spices and making them into a paste with a few drops of water!

14 comments:

archana said...

I was born and raised in a sea side town in Kerala, and i looooove fish. I have never made fish curry with pototoes. This curry sounds really interesting, will try it out very soon. Thank you.

Sukanya C said...

Well, if you really want to do it the right way, the fry the potatos (not deep fry) separately and then add the fried potatoes to the curry!

the mad momma said...

hey sukanya..
just bumped into ur blog.. i rarely and barely cook but i get by... was just going through the posts and wondering if it is mainly firangs you write for since you give such detailed explanations about grinding stones etc.. which are common across the country...
it would be lovely to know they try out our indian food...

Sukanya C said...

Not really. I write for anyone and everyone who would read my blog (I wonder why they would, but apparently they do). And most of the emails to me are from phirangs and therefore I give such detailed explanations. No other reason. Glad u stopped by!

the mad momma said...

well i am a libran and in some way it is meant to signify the sun sign Libra! So tired of the balance that i kept it...

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Anonymous said...

hai sukanya,

sob i to holo , kintu prothomei to atke gechi , bajzar theke jayano mach eseche , katbo ki kore ? help me plz.

Sukanya C said...

Ohoh. I havent ever faced that...but I know that the fishes are stunned using a shil nora....best of luck...hope it helps :-(. Next time ask your mach walla to do the needful. But the point to note is more intrepid cooks always prefer the jyaanto fish.

Anonymous said...

I have been trying to get the equivalent of "bengali fish" . any ideas on which ones to be used eg Carp is rui , anything else that you know ???

Sukanya C said...

pabda, tangra, ilish (hilsa), katla to name a few. i dont know their english names ... u can google it up, I guess. But these fishes are available by these very names at your local fish shop. Hope this helps.

Anonymous said...

soothi ei recipe ta help koreche na, badi theke doore boshe jeno mone hoochchilo jeno nijer sohore kono aantio sojoner badi te bose aachi

Anonymous said...

really it helps me a lot

Anonymous said...

Gr8 recipe, takes me back to my childhood, will try it out soon.
A bengali food blog is a cool idea, my American friends had never eaten Bengali food before and thought that all Indian food was hot and very spicy....
Will check out your other recipes, I have never written down any recipes...I just carry them around in my head but maybe one day I will !

Sukanya C said...

Pls do write. If i can...then anyone can! And do share them with me from time to time.