DISH RESEARCH · Main dish
Tel koi
Debjani’s Tel Koi cooks whole climbing perch in a Bengali ginger, tomato and cumin gravy with mustard oil, nigella and chillies, selecting her version without onion or garlic.
About Tel koi
Research draft based on the references below. These notes describe particular recipes and presentations; ingredient connections are still being reviewed.
Debjani Chatterjee Alam’s Tel Koi is a Bengali climbing-perch curry with ginger, cumin and mustard oil. Her selected version leaves out onion and garlic and combines the fish with a tomato-and-ground-spice paste rather than those alternative preparations.
Ginger and tomato pastes are mixed with cumin, turmeric, red chilli powder, sugar, salt and oil. The whole fish is washed, then marinated with salt, turmeric and a few drops of mustard oil.
Oil is heated with a little salt and turmeric, and the fish lightly fried on both sides before being strained out. Nigella and dried red chilli temper the same remaining oil over low heat.
The prepared spice paste cooks until it begins leaving the edge of the pan. Slit green chillies are added, followed by water, and the gravy is brought to a boil.
The fried fish returns and cooks until the gravy thickens while remaining plentiful. The author serves Tel Koi hot with steamed rice.
Ingredients in Tel koi
Recorded ingredient connections, rather than a complete recipe. Explore an ingredient for more detail.
Ingredient connections are still being added.
Ingredient connections awaiting review. Versions and preparation vary.
Origins & food traditions
Explore the countries and cooking traditions associated with this dish. These connections do not establish a single birthplace or limit where the dish is eaten today.
Countries
Country connections are still being added.
Cuisines & regions
Cuisine and regional connections are still being added.
Associations in the cited sources
These describe source-specific cultural or geographic connections. Catalogue links may still need review.
- Cooking traditions
- Bengali