Doi Maach

Fish is an everyday staple in my paternal house and i have literally grown up eating fish dishes , every single day of my childhood . As such , I personally love fish and prefer it over any other meat . My father always says that the key to good eyesight , glowing skin , a good dietary source of vitamin D and a sharp brain , is fish protein . After having moved out and married a not - so fish obsessed Bengali , my odds of having / preparing fish had drastically increased , till up to recently . Last year i gave up eating red -meat and that is when my loyalties shifted back to this beautiful white protein .

Doi Maach is a preparation that originated in west Bengal and maybe the reason why the preparation has a slight sweet overtone to it . Generally, rohu fish is used to prepare this dish - however, you could also use fishes like fresh water bass or salmon , if rohu is not available . Two key elements to making this dish perfectly is good quality fish and fresh yogurt . Let me take you through the steps

Things you will need :

• 500 gms of fresh water rohu

• 02 large onions , finely sliced

• 03 green chilli , sliced in half

• 03 tbsp ghee

• Whole Garam Masala - 02 cloves , 02 cinnamon , 02 cardamom , 01 bayleaf

• 1/2 cup fresh yogurt

• 1/2 cup water

• 01 tbsp grated ginger

• Handful of cashew and raisins

• Homemade Garam masala powder

• Salt and Sugar - to taste

Steps to Follow

• Wash and dry the fish pieces and assemble them in a bowl - marinate it with little salt and keep aside .

• Next, in a bowl beat the yogurt and water and beat till both are incorporated well - Add the grated ginger to this and keep aside.

• Heat a pan and add the ghee ( This preparation needs to be made in Ghee ONLY to get a good nutty flavor - do not use mustard or any other alternate oils )

• Add the cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves , green chilli and cloves to the oil to temper . After these are tossed for sometime , add in the sliced onions and fry them together till the onion is translucent . At this point add in 01 tsp of sugar , cashew nuts and raisins and mix everything together .

• Next , place the salt marinated fish on the bed of onion in the pan and delicately switch sides ( Keep 05 mins on each side ) - Ensure you do not break the fish pieces .

• Keep the flame low at all times.

• Next, remove the pan from fire and slowly add the beaten yogurt mix . The pan is removed from the fire in order to avoid the yogurt mix from curdling . Do not over mix as your fish pieces may break . Allow them to sit in the gravy.

• Add a little water and salt to taste and return the pan to the flame - let it simmer for 10-15 mins on low heat ( Do not cover )

• Your Doi Maach is ready - top with home made garam masala and 01 tsp ghee

• Serve with piping hot steamed rice :)

Pro- tip : Keep the flame low at all times during the preparation . Do not over mix the gravy once you add the fish , as your fish pieces may break - Allow them to sit in the gravy and exude their own flavor before you serve .