Alu Bori Diye Macher Jhol / Bengali Fish Curry with Potatoes and Sun-dried Dumplings

Alu Bori diye Macher Jhol is a staple in any Bengali family. There was a time when every family had their own recipe of making boris / sundried dumplings and in the summer all the housewives gatheres on the rooftop to make huge bunches of them to get them through the year. But now...bori has also become used to marketing policies. My mother buys small packets of different flavoured boris from a small shop of handcrafts. And my mother-in-law buys them from a distant relative who now runs a small bori business. She makes such tasty boris that sometimes I munch them right after I take them out of the kadai and then I have to fry more to make the curry.

This is one such recipe where what kind of bori you are using is the talk of the town. I generally use urad dal / biulir dale r bori or motor dal / yellow peas lentils bori. But seriously you can use whatever you want as long as the bori taste good. A simple very light fish curry with potatoes and bori, this recipe comes handy in summer time.

Fry the bori.

Fry the potato wedges until golden.

Fry the fishes until golden and crisp from outside.

Temper the remaining oil with ginger paste, slit chillies and nigella seeds.

Add the prepared masala paste and stir continuously until the oil separates.

Add water, salt and fried potatoes and cook covered until the potatoes are cooked from inside.

Add the fried fishes and simmer covered for 5 more minutes. Finish off with coriander leaves and boris. Add the boris 10-12 minutes before serving or otherwise they will soak all the gravy.

Alu Bori Diye Macher Jhol / Bengali Fish Curry with Potatoes and Sun-dried Dumplings

Serves 6

Ingredients:

6 pieces of fish

2 potatoes – cut into thick wedges

A handful of bori / sundried dumplings

1 tsp kalojeera / nigella seeds

2 and ½ tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 inch ginger paste

2 green chillies – chopped

A handful of fresh coriander leaves

¼ cup of mustard oil

Salt

Method:

Rub 1 tsp turmeric powder and some salt over the fishes. Rub them well and keep aside for 15 minutes.

Take ½ tsp turmeric powder and salt and sprinkle them over the potato wedges. Give them a good toss so that all the potato wedges are nicely covered with the turmeric powder and salt. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a kadai and shallow fry the fishes in small batches until they are crisp and golden from both the sides.

Take them out of the kadai after they are done and keep aside.

After the fishes, shallow fry the potato wedges in that oil until they are lightly golden. Take them out of the pan and keep aside.

Throw in all the boris into that oil and fry until they become golden. Once done quickly take them out of the pan. They tend to burn easily and burnt bori tastes bitter.

In a cup take all the powdered spices, i.e turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. Add in some water and make a smooth paste.

Add more oil to the kadai if required. Temper the oil with the minced ginger, chopped green chillies and nigella seeds. Saute them for some seconds.

Now pour in the prepare spice paste and start stirring. Do not stop or otherwise the spices may burn.

When the paste becomes thick and the oil start to separate at the edges pour in 2 cups of water.

Also add in the fried potato wedges and sprinkle in some salt.

Give a good mix and cover the pan / kadai.

Simmer on medium flame until the potatoes are nice and soft from inside.

Open the lid and add in the fried fishes.

Make sure the fishes are well under the curry so that they can absorb all the flavours and juices of the curry.

Cover the lid again and cook for another 5 minutes.

Open the lid after 5 minutes and taste and adjust the seasonings.

Simmer until the curry thickens and finish off with the chopped coriander leaves and fried boris.

Serve hot with plain rice.