Name: Bengali Fish Curry (Macher Jhol)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 4 dried chillies; 1 tbsp cumin seeds; 2 tsp coriander seeds; 2 tsp poppy seeds ((white) (often called khus khus)); ¼ tsp turmeric; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp sugar; ½ cup coconut milk; 4 tbsp mustard oil; 4 green chillies ((thinly sliced) (about 2 tbsp)); 1 tomato ((chopped)); 1 potato ((cubed, about 1 cup)); 1 cup coconut milk; t tbsp tamarind concentrate ((diluted with a little water)); 1.5 lb white fish ((700g) (cut into large chunks) (fish suggestions below)); ¼ cup cilantro ((chopped)); ¼ cup radishes ((finely diced)); ¼ cup celery ((finely diced))

1

Add the dried chillies, cumin seeds, poppy seeds and coriander seeds to a dry frying pan and toast for 1 minute until the cumin seeds start to jump around. Remove from the heat and add to a spice grinder and grind into a fine powder. Stir in the turmeric, salt and sugar and 1/2 cup of the coconut milk and set aside.

2

In a wok or deep sauce pan, heat the oil over a moderate temperature until just hot. Add the curry paste along and fry for 1 minute, until the oil separates.

3

Pour in the remaining coconut milk, 1/4 cup water, chopped chillies, potatoes and tomato and stir well. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer gently, uncovered for 12 minutes until creamy. The potatoes should be cooked too.

4

Stir in the tamarind liquid and then carefully add the fish chunks and simmer for 5-10 minutes (depending how large your fish pieces are), covered, without stirring until the fish is cooked through.

5

Remove from the heat and serve scattered with cilantro, celery and radish with plenty of fluffy basmati rice or Indian breads.