Bengalis and fish are synonymous. The large number of rivers and water bodies in West Bengal and Bangladesh has provided a horde of fish and fish related recipes that sticking to the generic maach er jhol and maach er chocchori or tarkari doesn’t do justice to the various other preparations of fish that have been innovated and perfected and handed down over generations. Here we have listed 5 lesser-known preparations of fish that might interest your taste buds and break you out of your monotony of having fish prepared one or two ways.
1. Maach er Bhorta or Maach Makha:
Beyond fried fish Bengalis also make fish salads that involve mashing or shredding up the fish pieces and mixing it up with a few fresh ingredients. The recipe for a maach er bhorta or maach makha recommends using fish pieces that have very few bones in them, for example rohu fish or any other varieties of carp that you might find on the market. Fry them up using mustard oil and carefully shred the fish meat. Toss it up with cut pieces of cucumber, tomatoes, onions, cilantro or coriander and a dash of lime juice. You can have it with steamed plain white rice or as a stuffing in sandwiches and it’ll taste heavenly, either way
2. Maach er Muithya:
The most popular maach er muithya recipe requires the use of chitol maach or clown knifefish. It is a freshwater carnivorous fish that lives off of smaller fishes and shrimps. This recipe can be comparable to a meatballs recipe, except its fish that we’ll shape into fist sized thick patties and then cooked in an onion-based gravy with spices. The chitol maach is used because it is a big fish that has bigger bones which can easily be portioned into fillets without the added fear of having smaller bones lurking within them. The fillets are mashed with boiled potatoes, spices and ginger garlic paste before shaping them, parboiling them, followed by shallow frying and then tossing them in a sauce or gravy.
3. Maach Pora:
Maach pora can be associated with grilling where the entire length and breadth of a large of medium sized fish is grilled over open fire. The most popular fish for this use case scenario is the tilapia fish. It is a freshwater fish that has relatively large bones, that’ll be easy to pick the bones off of. The fish is marinated in a custom spice rub and wrapped in banana leaves and roasted over burning coal on a wire rack that produces those distinguishable grill marks and the burnt or charred bits of fish meat which is all the more enjoyable when accompanied with plain white rice. Usually, an outdoor snack fit for family picnics or outings; one can make it at home as well that’ll give a similar outcome.
4. Maach Bhapa:
Maach bhapa is a preparation involving cut pieces of fish that have been wrapped inside medium sized leaves along with a spice rub or a paste and steamed. Usually, fish meat is delicate and this process traps in all the flavours of the fish inside along with the spices. The most popular maach er bhapa recipes from Bengal involves the usage of hilsa fish but rohu, katla and boal fish can also be prepared using this method.
5. Maach er Tok:
A sweet-sour-tangy curry fit for summertime, maach er tok or maach er ambol involves the use of raw mangoes and tamarind to create a semi-dry curry that’ll be lip smacking and ethereal for your taste buds. Usually made with mourola maach or Mola Carplet fish which is a tiny sweet water fish found in the lakes, ponds and backwaters of Bengal, the recipe pairs very well with plain white rice at the end of a meal.