Doi Maach / Bengali Fish curry in Creamy Yogurt Sauce

Generally a tub of yogurt has a self life of 2 weeks. I am talking about the yogurt I generally buy from Cash Centre. I don’t make them in home. The manufacturing and the expiry date is always written on top of the lid. However....I did not use one for a long and finally now I have 1kg yogurt which will expire after 3-4 days. So...I started making foods with yogurt. I can’t throw away foods like that!!  So I made doi maach (fish curry with curd), doi mangsho (chicken curry with curd), doi chingri (prawn curry with curd), doi alu (potato curry with curd), doi die alur dom (dum aloo with curd)...and so on. And quite purposefully I closed the deal in time.

So, here I am, with my first instalment of the yogurt saga, i.e. Doi Maach / Bengali Fish curry with Yogurt. I have another version of the recipe where the fish is steamed and not much spices are used there. Its quite easy and subtle in taste. The aroma plays the main deal there. So, this time I wanted to make something different and went with the recipe that I generally follow with the chicken.

Temper the ghee / oil with whole spices.

After the oil becomes aromatic add in the chopped onions

Add the ginger - garlic paste when the onions become lightly golden.

It came out wonderful. I made the dish with ghee and it made the gravy and the fish a lot flavourful than the usual. Just go a little slow while you are cooking the curd, because if the curd separates on the high heat, it will just be a disaster for your curry.

After the raw flavour of the garlic is gone add the curd and the powdered spices, except the garam masala.

Simmer to make a gravy and add the pieces of fried fish.

Add water, salt and simmer till done.

Doi Mach

Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

6 pieces of fish

1 medium onion – chopped

3-5 garlic cloves – minced / paste

1 inch stick of ginger – minced / paste

1 cup thick curd / yogurt  – whisked

2-3 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp red chilli powder

½ tsp cumin powder

½ tsp coriander powder

1 tsp roasted and ground cumin and coriander seeds

1 tsp garam masala powder

1 medium cinnamon stick

3-4 green cardamoms

3 cloves

1 bay leaf

1 tsp sugar

A handful of chopped fresh coriander leaves

Salt

1 tbsp ghee / mustard oil

1 tbsp oil to fry the fishes

Method:

Rub 2 tsp turmeric powder sand salt on the pieces of fish and let them marinade for 10-15 minutes.

Heat up the oil in a kadai / pan and fry the fishes one by one, till they become golden and crispy on both the sides. Once done, keep aside.

Take away all the oil if you are using ghee, and if not, in the remaining oil add the whole garam masalas, i.e. cinnamon stick, cloves, green cardamoms and bay leaf.

Sauté for half a minute or until the ghee becomes aromatic and then add the chopped onions and sugar to them.

Sauté and cook the onions till they become lightly golden brown and then add the ginger – garlic paste to them.

Mix in and cook till the raw flavour of the garlic is gone.

Now put off the flame and let it cool down for 2 minutes.

Then add the whisked yogurt and all the powder spices except the garam masala powder.

Mix in and put the flame on low.

Keep on stirring and cooking, till a nice gravy is formed. The onions will become totally mushy and the gravy will start to ooze out oil from it.

Then add the pieces of fish to them and pour in 2 and ½ cups of water.

Add some salt and put cover.

Simmer till the right consistency of the gravy is achieved.

Sprinkle the garam masala powder and chopped coriander leaves over them and put off the flame.

Serve hot with some steamed hot rice.