Doi Maach (Fish cooked in a Curd based gravy)

One of my favorite dishes since childhood has been Doi Maach. Though I am not a die hard fan of fish, Doi Maach is among the few exceptions that my taste buds have learnt to love. Whenever I go home for a weekend trip, my mother almost always has this dish prepared for me. In the 5 years since I started cooking, I had never ventured into cooking fishes. However, today I though "why not try this recipe". So I went to my elder cousin and asked him to help me buy Rohu or Catla fish (as I have never purchased this on my on).

We went down to the nearest market at 7:45 in the morning, purchased the fish (with my cousin pointing out how to identify a fresh fish and understand about the quality bit) and returned to his place. I asked my Aunt about the recipe (as she is the one other person who prepares this dish to my liking) and once I had got all the details,  I returned home. 

I prepared the dish and along with my aunt's recipe added my own small twist to increase the awesomeness (read richness😁😆 ) quotient.  And so for lunch it was Chana Dal, Bandhakopi, Doi Maach and Rice. Ah... a Sunday lunch felt like a Sunday lunch after a long time.


Ingredients:

500 grams of fresh Rohu or Catla fish (6 to 7 one inch pieces)
Curd - 400 grams
Onion - 1 medium sized
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Garlic - 7 to 8 cloves
Green Chili - 7 to 8 sliced through without breaking the chili into two 
Red Chili Powder - 1 teaspoon
Methi(Fenugreek) Seeds - 1½ teaspoons
Salt to taste
Sunflower Oil - 4 tablespoons
Ghee - 1 teaspoon

Optional ingredients:

Cashew nuts - 8 to 10

Preparation:
  • Whisk the Curd well to avoid having any lumps in it. You may use a mixer to achieve this or do it manually with a spoon. To make the process easier, add a little bit of water. 
  • Once the curd has achieved a smooth consistency, grind the onion using a grinder to a fine paste. 
  • Next grind the ginger and garlic together into a fine paste
  • Add the onion and ginger-garlic paste into the curd and mix well. 
  • Next add the salt, red chili powder and green chilis and mix.
  • Add the fish pieces into the marinade making sure each piece is well coated with it. Let it stand for 1 hour.
  • At high heat, add the sunflower oil in a non stick Kadhai. Add the ghee and methi seeds. 
  • Once the methi seeds start crackling, add the fishes one by one and once done pour in the rest of the marinade. Lower the flame immediately. 
  • Now as an optional ingredient you may choose to add a paste of cashew nuts (put 8 to 10 cashew nuts in a grinder with some water to prepare it)
  • Let the fish cook on the slow flame for around 30-35 minutes.
  • Taste the gravy and adjust the salt requirement accordingly. Switch off the flame.
This dish is best had with plain white rice. Hope you will enjoy making this as much as I did.




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