How to Cook Bengali Fish Stew

Serves: 4-6

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 35 mins

Ingredients needed to make Bengali Fish Stew:

• 1 lb 5 oz sea bream or any variety of white fish, scrubbed, pin bones discarded and flesh chopped into 1’’ chunks
• 2 large garlic cloves, pulsed into a paste with a  tbsp of water
• 2-3 green chillies, slitted
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp ginger paste
• 3 small bay leaves, dried
• ¼ tsp red chilli powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 4 cloves
• 4 greeb cardamom pods, crushed
• Pinch of paprika
• 1 tsp Bengali five-spice blend or Panch-phoran, (fenugreek, fennel, mustard, cumin and nigella seeds blended in equal proportions)
• 14 fl oz water
• 5 tbsp mustard oil
• Salt to taste

Cooking instructions for Bengali Fish Stew:

• Pour in 3 ½ tbsp mustard oil a small skillet and heat it over moderate heat until it smokes.
• Turn off the heat and set aside for half a minute or so.
• Throw in the bay leaves, cardamom pods, Bengali five-spice blend as well as cloves and turn the heat back on to fry them over slow flame for a couple of minutes or until the cumin seeds begin to splutter and turn darker.
• Toss the chopped onions into it and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until they turn soft.
• Drop in the green chilies and stir them into the mixture, along with garlic plus ginger paste until well combined.
• Cook the mixture further for another minute, stirring nicely and sprinkle the powdered spices into it.
• Add a dash of salt and give a good stir to mix them all together.
• Pour in water and continue to cook the mixture until it starts boiling.
• Reduce it to a simmer and continue to do so over reduced heat for next 12-15 minutes or until the curry thicken slightly.
• Turn off the heat and set aside.
• Drizzle rest of the oil in a separate skillet and heat it over high flame.
• Lower the fish chunks into it and fry for a minute or two, flipping them over once to cook the other side in a similar fashion, until they turn golden brown evenly.
• Dip the fried fish into the curry and pour in water to make it thinner.
• Give it a good stir to coat the fish well with the sauce and bring the stew back to a simmer.
• Cook likewise for about 3-4 minutes or until heated through and pour it into a large serving bowl.
• Enjoy hot with steamed basmati rice.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Last Updated on March 22, 2013 by