This Eastern Indian fish curry features deep-fried tilapia fillets simmered in a rich, aromatic gravy tempered with panch-phoran and built on a ground paste of onions, ginger, chilies, and warm spices. The standout trait is the double-cooking method: frying the fish first, then building a spiced gravy base separately before combining them.
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In a grinder grind the onions, ginger, 2 bay leaves, red chili, mustard seeds, cumin seed all together.
Preserve some cut pieces 1 cup) of onion.
Cut small pieces of tomatoes.
Make small pieces of fish fillets, about 3 inches in length.
Clean them properly if you are using the whole fish and make it into small pieces.
Take a big plate, put the fish in it and sprinkle 2 teaspoon of salt, two teaspoon of turmeric powder and the garlic paste.
Mix all of them properly.
Allow to marinate for 1/2 hour.
Take a pan or a wok (preferable), heat it and put oil to deep fry the fish.
Once the oil is much hotter, fry the fish, 3-4 pieces at a time, 3-4 minutes on each side.
Keep all of them in a separate plate.
When all the pieces are fried, clean all the black residues from the oil in the wok with the spatula and put 2 tablespoon of fresh oil in the it.
Then put a pinch of cumin seed, a pinch of mustard seed, 2 red chili, 2 bay leaves, a pinch of aniseed (all together is called panch-phoran) and allow them to splutter.
Then put the cut onion pieces and allow it to just a little brown.
Then put all the ground paste,tomatoes,left over turmeric powder and salt to taste.
Keep stirring it until the paste becomes a little brown (it takes around 10 minutes).
You can also identify it by looking at the wok, that the paste will start leaving the oil and paste will now no more stick on the wok.
The paste is now perfectly fried.
Now pour 3 cups of water to it, or as much thick gravy you want.
Once the gravy comes to boil, start dropping the fried fish pieces and allow to boil for 15 minutes.
Switch off the gas.
Use coriander leaf for garnishing.
This dish should be served with fresh steamed rice and squeeze some lime some juice on top.
Store leftover curry in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat, adding a splash of water if the gravy has thickened; do not microwave as it can break the fish apart.
grinder (for grinding onions, ginger, chilies, and spices) · wok or large pan (preferred for deep frying and gravy-making)
Yes. Any firm white fish works—cod, halibut, or pomfret are good alternatives. Avoid delicate fish that falls apart during frying.
Marinate for 30 minutes as stated in the recipe. This allows the salt, turmeric, and garlic paste to season the fish before frying.
Panch-phoran ('five seeds') is the Bengali spice blend of cumin seed, mustard seed, red chili, bay leaves, and aniseed, fried together to release their flavors at the start of the gravy.
Reduce the number of red chilies from 7 to 4–5, or remove the seeds before grinding. Adjust to taste when building the gravy.
The paste will turn light brown and begin pulling away from the sides of the wok, no longer sticking—this takes about 10 minutes and signals it's ready for water.
