A finger licking yummy pomfret fish curry made in Bengali style – the recipe I have grown up eating – simple yet so sumptuous. Tastes best when paired with steamed rice
A fish recipe on the blog after a long time! Again, not that I didn’t make any in the meantime, but I didn’t document it here. Apologies, since I know a lot of you love fishes and their Bengali recipes. So, here is a delicious pomfret fish curry that you need to bookmark and surely make. Pomfret is one of our favorite fishes and we enjoy it in curries as well as fried forms. Last week, when it was cloudy and slightly chilly here, I was craving a spicy fish curry for lunch. Since I had freshly bought pomfret on me, this Bengali fish curry with some Bengali vegetable fried rice was our lunch. I generally would make steamed rice to go along with my fish curry, but I just felt fancy hence the fried rice. Growing up that’s how we ate is, as well.
This lip smacking macher jhol or fish curry is a one pot recipe and comes together easily too. Like most Bengali recipe this one too is a simple recipe made using regular Indian spices. You will not need to grind any special masalas to make it. This one is a onion tomato based curry and the rich red color comes from the use of chilli powder. You can also use only Kashmiri chili powder for the color – thsis doesn’t impart any heat to the recipe. I, however, have used one that gives color as well as heat to the pomfret curry. Talking of chilli, I have also used fresh chilis in my recipe too, more for their flavor than heat. But if that’s not something you prefer, do leave them out. Even without the heat this fish curry is going to blow your mind away with it’s taste.
You may also like,
Macher kalia (Bengali fish kalia)
Macher chop (Bengali fish cutlets)
Red chutney stuffed tandoori pomfret
Fish rezala (Bengali style fish in white sauce)
Serving suggestion
The best way to enjoy this delicious pomfret fish curry is with a bowl of steaming hot rice. A generous squeeze of lemon juice would be just perfect over it, as well. That’s how maa would serve this to us and we totally loved it. Now, I am lucky to be able to find fresh pomfret here, that makes this curry throughly enjoyable. However, if you aren’t able to find pomfret, you could try the same recipe with rohu (rui), katla and even salmon. This delicious curry is an under 30 minute recipe and can be made even on a weekday. You could even make this curry for guests. When they eat it, they’ll never be able to guess that it was this easy to cook it!
I hope I have tempted the fish lover in you enough, for you to try this recipe out soon. And if you do, I’d love to know how much you enjoyed it. You can share your feedback in the comments section below. Alternately, you could also share your food pictures with me on Instagram. See you soon with another exciting recipe.
Eat hearty!
Pomfret fish curry (Bengali style)
Equipment
- Shallow cooking pot with lid
Ingredients
- 500 g pomfret fish darnes
- 2 medium onions sliced
- 1 medium tomato chopped
- 2-3 tbsp coriander leaves finely chopped
- 2-3 fresh green chilis
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- 1 tbsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp onion seeds kalonji/kalo jeere
- 1 dried red chili
- ¼ cup oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Wash and pat dry the fish pieces. Apply half the amount of salt and the turmeric to them and keep them aside
- Heat the cooking pot with the oil. Once hot, gently add the fish pieces (3 at a time) to it and fry for 2-3 minutes on either sides, each. Drain and keep aside
- In the same oil, over medium heat, add the onion seeds and dried chili. Cook for a minute and then add the onion and a pinch of salt. Fry until they turn pink and soft
- Add the ginger-garlic paste and fresh chilis, cook for another minute and then add the red chili powder. Stir this in quickly and then add the remaining spice powders and 2-3 tbsp of water
- Mix well and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt and a cup of water, mix, cover and cook until they become soft
- Gently slide in the fish pieces, cover and cook on medium heat for 5-7 minutes, turning the fish pieces once mid way
- Turn the flame off, add the coriander leaves and serve your delicious pomfret fish curry with rice. Enjoy!
Notes
- g - grams
- tsp - teaspoon
- tbsp - tablespoon
- 1 cup - 250 millilitres
