The macher chop or Bengali fish cutlets are yet another testimony to how much, we Bengalis, love our fish! As if fish curries and fish fries weren’t enough for our lunch/dinner, we needed something for our tea time too. But, of course we did, hence these macher chop. Now, mach translates to fish and chop in Bengali means cutlets. And these fish cutlets are not only a great tea time snack, but a yummy party appetizer too. You will most often find them in weddings’ and other celebratory functions’ menus, too. Additionally, almost all Bengali homes will have their version of making the macher chop. This is something that gets made on holidays, on weekends or just for an evening snack. That’s because, not just lip smacking, these Bengali fish cutlets are very easy to make, as well.
In fact, just last week, I made a big batch of these to take to a friend’s party. Despite making lunch for the husband and myself, I was very easily able to make almost 26 of these cutlets. It is that quick and easy a recipe. And the recipe for the macher chop that I swear by, is that of my maternal grandmother’s. She made the best chops I have ever eaten. And just like her singara recipe, her Bengali fish cutlet recipe is also what everyone in the family follows. While she made these with boiled and de-boned rui/katla maach (freshwater fishes), I have used canned tuna. These shallow fried cutlets, flavoured with Bengali garam masala, are best enjoyed hot with some kasundi or Bengali mustard sauce. If you can’t get hold of this yummy, pungent sauce, you could pair them up even with ketchup.
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Quick and easy recipe
In the fish mixture, for the cutlets, the boiled potatoes not only act as the binding agent, but also give a body to the macher chop (Bengali fish cutlets). Also, the fact that, the onions, ginger and garlic are not added raw in the mix, but are fried first, makes a big difference to the taste. Thereafter even the fish and potatoes are cooked along with them. However, nothing at this stage is deep fried or cooked too much. But, cooked enough so that the onions, fish chunks, potatoes and the masalas combine well to create the perfect chop texture. Speaking of the texture, these cutlets are crunchy and crusty on the outside with a smooth and soft inside. The crumb coating not only gives them the perfect crust, but also helps in keeping the shapes of these cutlets intact. Otherwise, your chop could break apart when shallow frying.
My babai (that’s what I called my maternal grandmother) also added raisins and roasted and crushed peanuts to her chop mixture. While I love the addition of peanuts, I don’t quite enjoy the raisins. Hence, I have left them out, but if you want to add a slight bite of sweetness to your macher chop, you could absolutely use them. In any case, there is a small amount of sugar that also goes in the chop mixture. This is not to make the cutlets sweet, but to round off the spicy and salty flavours in it. And trust me, you won’t even know that there is any sugar there.
Serving suggestions
Like I have already mentioned, you could serve these delicious Bengali fish cutlets as a tea time snack, evening snack and/or a party appetizer. Most Bengalis often enjoy their macher chop with muri (puffed rice) and gorom cha (chai), as well. I have made these quick and easy fish cutlets for all my non-Bengali friends here, as well, and even they have loved it. You could easily shape, crumb coat and freeze them to fry at a later time. This especially comes handy when you plan to make them for a party at home. So, while you finish up with the rest of the arrangement, you could fry the cutlets, just before you want to serve them.
If you are planning to try my Bengali fish cutlet recipe, I’d love to see how they turned out for you. You could share you food pictures with me over on Instagram. Alternatively, you could drop in a line or two of your feedback in the comments section below.
Eat hearty!
Macher chop (Bengali fish cutlets)
Equipment
- Shallow cooking pot
Ingredients
- 400 g tuna chunks canned
- 2 medium potatoes boiled & mashed
- ½ cup onions finely chopped
- 2 tbsp ginger finely chopped
- 2 tbsp garlic finely chopped
- 2 tbsp chilis finely chopped
- 3-4 tbsp coriander leaves finely chopped
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Bengali garam masala powder*
- ¼ cup peanuts roasted & coarsely crushed
- 1 tbsp pink/black salt optional
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 4-5 tbsp oil for shallow frying
- salt to taste
For the crumb coating
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1 cup flour
- 2 eggs whisked until frothy
Instructions
- In your cooking pot, heat a tablespoon of oil over medium heat and add the onions. Fry until they turn light brown and then add the chilis, ginger and garlic
- Once they become fragrant add the fish chunks with all the spice powders, sugar and salt. Mix throughly and cook for 3-4 minutes
- Then add the mashed, boiled potatoes and mix well, until evenly combined. Check for salt here and adjust if needed
- Turn the flame off and mix in the peanuts and coriander leaves. Let it cool down enough for you to be able to shape them
- Set up your crumbing station. Pinch out golf ball sized portions out of the cooked fish and potato mixture, shape and flatten them out in small patties
- Dredge each patty in flour, then the beaten eggs and then roll them in the bread crumbs**
- Once all of them are shaped, heat the remaining oil and then turn the flame to medium. Fry the patties in batches, until both sides turn golden brown
- Remove on absorbent kitchen towels and drizzle a pinch of pink/black salt over each cutlet. Serve your lip smacking macher chop (Bengali fish cutlets) with some kasundi and/or ketchup. Enjoy!
Notes
- *To make the Bengali garam masala, dry roast a tablespoon of cloves and green cardamoms along with an inch of cinnamon stick and 3-4 dried red chilis. Cool and grind it to fine powder and use
- **You can flash freeze them, at this point, for 30 minutes and then pack and freeze the patties to fry at a later time
- I have used canned tuna chunks for my recipe, but you can also use boiled and de-boned rohu (rui maach) and/or katla. Traditionally, these freshwater fishes are only used
- The sugar in the recipe will not make the cutlets sweet. It is added to round up the savoury flavours
- 1 cup = 250 millilitres
- 1 tbsp - tablespoon
- 1 tsp = teaspoon
