Machhere Jhol (Bengali Fish Curry)

  4.4 – 4 reviews  • Seafood

a delicious fish curry from Bengal. In India, the tastiest sections of a fish are frequently saved as a fillet and prepared in a fish stew or curry with the less appetizing parts of the fish. At your dining table, you should experiment with the contrasting texture combination.

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 30 mins
Servings: 4
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  1. 2 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped
  2. 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  3. 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
  4. ½ teaspoon salt
  5. 2 cups water
  6. 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  7. 2 pounds thick whitefish fillets, cut into large chunks
  8. ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
  9. ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  10. ½ teaspoon black cumin seeds
  11. ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed
  12. ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds

Instructions

  1. Bring the tomatoes, cumin, turmeric, salt, and water to a boil in a four quart saucepan; reduce heat to medium and maintain a simmer.
  2. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; cook the fish in the oiled skillet until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the fish to the saucepan.
  3. Heat a separate skillet 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. Simmer until the flavors integrate, about 10 minutes more. Serve hot.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 367 kcal
Carbohydrate 6 g
Cholesterol 137 mg
Dietary Fiber 2 g
Protein 45 g
Saturated Fat 3 g
Sodium 418 mg
Sugars 3 g
Fat 18 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

Brooke Diaz
I have tried the recipe at my home. It was very tasty and yummy. I loved the recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Brent Myers
For those who could not find “black cumin” – it’s not cumin and is a literal translation of the Bengali or Hindi name. It’s sold under the name “kalonji” or “onion seeds” – any Indian grocery store will carry it. Also it’s not accurate to say that only the leftover pieces are used for curry. As a die-hard Bengali with roots in both Bengals, I remember the best curry made out of fresh Katla (Buffalo)/ Rui (Rehu or Carp) and Bhetki. Every slice was used.
Victoria Reyes
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.
Tracy Stone
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.

 

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