Pabda machh er tel jhal

Debjani Chatterjee Alam’s Pabda Machh-er Tel Jhal balances onion and mustard pastes in a Bengali fish gravy with tomato, ginger, garlic and curd. The source places the dish in eastern India; this selected recipe uses whole pabda fish rather than the offered larger-fish halves.

Black mustard seeds soak in lukewarm water, then are ground with green chillies and salt into a paste. The cleaned fish is marinated with salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and mustard oil before frying.

In the gravy pan, mustard oil is heated with turmeric, salt and red chilli powder. Nigella tempers the oil, then onion paste fries until its colour changes; tomato, ginger and garlic pastes cook in until oil separates.

The mustard paste, hung curd, turmeric, slit green chillies and red chilli powder are mixed into the gravy and cooked briefly. Water is added and the mixture is brought to a boil.

The fish cooks in the gravy over low heat under a lid. The author’s preparation describes a tender fish finish and offers the curry with steamed rice.