Machher Jhol

The potatoes are there to thicken it, not to pad it out.

Fish. Not vegetarian — contains fish.

Ingredients

700 g rohu or catla, in steaks
400 g potatoes, in thick slices
300 g tomatoes, chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon garlic paste
a 4 cm piece of ginger, grated
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoons ground red chilli
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 tablespoons mustard oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
600 ml water
20 g coriander leaves

Method

THE POTATOES ARE THERE TO THICKEN IT, NOT TO PAD IT OUT. Its article uses the words: POTATOES ARE ADDED TO THE CURRY AS A THICKENING AGENT. That changes how they are handled. A potato added to bulk a curry out goes in whole and comes out whole; a potato added to thicken has to be cut thin enough to break down at the edges and then be helped along. It also explains why there is no flour, no coconut and no nut paste anywhere in a dish its article calls a very spicy stew or gravy.
THE FISH IS SALTED, TURMERICKED AND FRIED FIRST. Steaks rubbed with half the turmeric and some salt, then browned in the mustard oil and lifted out. This is what stops them disintegrating later.
THE OIL IS SMOKED BEFORE THE FISH GOES IN. Mustard oil heated until it just smokes, then taken off a moment. Raw mustard oil is harsh and the fish takes it up.
THE POTATOES ARE FRIED IN THE SAME OIL NEXT. Until golden at the edges. Fried potato holds its shape in the middle while giving up starch from its surface, which is exactly the thickening its article means.
THE TOMATOES GO IN AND ARE COOKED OUT, WHICH IS WHERE THE COLOUR COMES FROM. Its article says tomatoes are added TO IMPART THE DISH WITH A REDDISH COLOUR, which is PREFERRED BY THE PEOPLE OF BENGAL -- so the red is deliberate and not incidental.
A FEW SLICES OF POTATO ARE CRUSHED INTO THE GRAVY. Against the side of the pan, once soft. The rest stay whole.
THE FISH GOES BACK IN FOR THE LAST FIVE MINUTES ONLY. And is not stirred after that, only shaken.
IT IS A THIN GRAVY AND ITS ARTICLE CALLS IT A JHOL. Six hundred millilitres of water. Thick enough to coat a spoon and no thicker, and it is eaten with rice.
ITS ARTICLE NAMES THE FISH USED. Ilish, rui and catla, and small fish which it says are often favoured over the others.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under India · All recipes