A page from my Ma's cookbook ~Odia style fish curry/ Maachha Aloo Jhola/Macha Tarkari~

 As the aroma of the fish curry wafted through the hallway into the bedroom, M (that’s my hubby) came sniffing into the kitchen. Often it’s quite unlikely to elicit such a response from him when I am conjuring up a fish recipe. But this as you might have guessed was a very pleasant surprise. It is my tested way of getting assured that this dish is here to stay and going to be served on demand on many mundane occasions. More so a total win especially when you are trying to think of ways you can make fish recipes without it tasting fishy. Quite tricky eh? Ahh yes and to complicate things – I am an absolute fish eating, true Odia at heart. So you see my attachment to this very sensitive subject and my extensive efforts to make this a success.

My memories of this recipe goes way back to days when I came home from school to a plate of piping hot rice served with this special hand licking fish curry. In those days, the comfort and luxury of getting delicious meals without preparing them was almost taken for granted and was more so of a regular affair. But not so much now! So one of these days when I felt the urge to refresh some memories, I turned back to this gem of a recipe my Ma cooked quite so often.

This is a few ingredient fish curry ("Maachha" meaning Fish; "Aloo" meaning potato and "Jhola" refering to a thin consistency gravy quite typical of an Odia curry) with distinctive flavor which is sure to enrapture your taste buds for a while. If you are looking for a light, simple and different fish curry, look no more since here it is. This recipe reminds me that it's all about the very little things that make so much of a difference and it’s always these things that matter the most.

~Odia Style fish curry / Maachha Aloo Jhola~

A typical Odia fish curry in which fish steaks and potatoes sautéed in mustard oil steep in a flavorful, spicy onion-tomato gravy with a distinctive bite of the pancha phutana* playing along with the musky undertone of freshly grated cinnamon as the final touch. 

*Pancha Phutana is the traditional Odia tempering mix made of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asfoetida seeds, fennel seeds and black caraway seeds.

Ingredients:

Fish (German or Silver Carp) – 1 lb

1 tsp Turmeric Powder

1 tsp Salt

3-4 Medium sized potatoes – Cut longitudinally into four

Mustard Oil for shallow frying 

½  tsp Panch Phutana 

1 Bay leaf

½ C Ginger garlic paste

1 C Onion paste

½ tsp Turmeric powder

½-1 tsp Chili powder (depending on the hotness you would like)

½ C Tomato puree

½ T Dhania powder
½ tsp Garam Masala powder
2 C Water

Pinch of sugar

Pinch of Cinnamon powder
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Marinate the fish pieces with salt and turmeric. Put it in the refrigerator till ready to fry.

2. Heat a pan over medium heat. Pour some oil to coat the surface of the pan. Once the pan gets hot, add in a few fish pieces at a time. Saute for about 1-2 minutes. Then, take them out and keep aside.

3. Repeat the same for the potato cubes. Keep aside.

4. In the same pan, take out the excess oil. Now, once the left over oil is hot, add in the pancha phutana and let it crackle.

5. Then, pour in the onion, ginger, garlic and tomato paste. Let it cook till the mixture starts boiling (about 3-4 mins).

6. Now add in the chili powder, turmeric powder and dhania powder, salt to taste and sugar. Cook till the mixture starts bubbling and leaves oil.

7. Add in water and let the gravy come to a boil. Then simmer the gravy till the oil floats on top.

8. Carefully slide the potato pieces and let it simmer for 3-4 mins and then add in the fish pieces. Cook for 2-3 mins more.

9. Switch off the heat and sprinkle cinnamon powder on the top and taste for salt.

10. Serve piping hot with plain rice with a serving of cilantro on top.

A few things to keep in mind when making this. 

- Not everyone can take in the piquancy of the mustard oil with as much gusto as we Odias' do. So feel free to substitute with any other oil you prefer.

- We generally use fresh water fish for this curry. I found the German/Silver Carp to be the closest in taste so I used them. Use any other fish that you might prefer.

- The pancha phutana is readily available in all stores here in the US and if not you can a equal part mix of asfoetida and nigella (black caraway seeds) alonng with 2 parts each of Cumin, mustard and fennel seeds.You can substitute this tempering with your regular monotone tempering and see the difference.

Try this out and there's no doubt that you will see the subtle undertones of the panch phutana that makes all the difference in this recipe.

Until next time!
Love
J
P.S: Submitting this recipe to:
- WTML - May hosted by Gayatri.

Fresh, light and effortless ~Pudina Murg Masala / Mint Chicken Masala~

How often have you fancied the idea of breaking away from the conventional and just drifting along with the flow? A lot many times? Quite a few times? or Occasionally? 

Whatever your answer may be, you will concur that the heady rush in flowing with your instincts totally trumps the comfort of the known by about hundred thousand times (or well maybe more!!).At some time or the other, we all have been guilty of holding on to the tried and tested in our mundane humdrum of daily routine. But on occasions, when we are presented with the time and opportunity to try something new, I believe we should grab it and hold it as tight as we possibly can.

Well! before I confuse you too much (or lead you into believing that I am nuts!), i will be deft to specify that this is about a new recipe I am talking about that I created in my kitchen while playing around with ingredients.

On one fine day a few weeks back, while ready-ing up the chicken for marination- all I knew in my mind is that I did NOT want to go the usual route (i.e. load it with the spices and masala). I imagined it to be a significantly quick cooking and light dish which can be used both as an appetizer as well as a side dish. An idea struck when my attention was drawn towards the fresh bunch of mint from the farmers market lying on the counter. There in a jiffy, the mint was in the mixer bowl with a bunch of Thai chillies and then right into the marination bowl. With a sprinkling of a very few other spices, the chicken was kept to rest along with its flavorful companions in the refrigerator for about 1-2 days before I took it out again for the main dish.

Without much ado, here’s the recipe for this flavorful, minty chicken gravy that has so fascinated both me and my husband, that I have already made it for the third time in a matter of two weeks!!

                           ~ Pudina Murg Masala / Mint Chicken Masala~

A fresh and light chicken gravy that's distinctly aromatic with mint on a canvas of sweetened onions and tangy tomatoes. A very quick and easy way to bring out the royal flair albeit the effort! 
*Served here with fresh homemade appams.

Recipe:

For marination:

1 bunch Fresh mint

4-5 Thai green chillies (Alter the quantity based on how spicy the chilies are and how spicy you would the dish to be)

1 inch piece Ginger

4-5 Cloves Garlic

1 T  Lemon juice

1/2 tsp Salt

1 lb of Fresh chicken cut into cubes

3 T Oil

1 pinch of Whole spices (2 cloves, 1/2 inch Mace, 1 Cardamom)

2 C Finely sliced Onions

1 C Chopped Tomatoes

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1 tsp Red Chili powder

1 1/2  tsp Coriander powder

1 tsp Jaggery/Sugar

Salt to taste

Method:

1. In the bowl of a mixer, add all the ingredients for the marination and make a fine paste. 

2. Toss the chicken pieces with the marinade and keep in the fridge (for ~ 1 hr to 2 days).

3. In a saute pan over medium high heat, pour the oil.

4. Once the oil heats up, add in the whole spices. Wait for the spices to be fragrant.

5. Add in the chopped onions and fry till they are light brown in color (~ 4-5 mins).

6. Then mix in the tomatoes and the spices, cook till the oil separates.

7. Now finally add in the chicken and toss till cooked well (~ 7-8 mins).

This is one recipe you HAVE to make, to understand how flavorful chicken gravy can be without an overdose of spices. It becomes the perfect accompaniment for rice/roti/appams etc. on any given day - if you are in the mood for some playing around. At the end, I was very content that I played with my ingredients and ended up with a recipe I am going to treasure for quite sometime.

So fear not! Go ahead and have fun with your ingredients :)

Love,
J