Easiest maachher jhol

[Anju]

Hi Bablu, this one is for you.

Ingredients: Fish- any fish, cut into suitable sized pieces- say 4-6 pieces
Oil
Salt and turmeric
Cauliflower- few florets cut into medium pieces, say 15 pieces
1-2 Potatoes- chopped into small 1" pieces (do you know the different ways to cut potato- like for jhol, alu bhaja, machher jhaal? If not, tell me, I will post step by step photo)
You can substitute cauliflower with Any other vegetable you like-- so we have potol jhol, etc
Ginger paste- 1/2 tsf
2 Green chillies
1-2 Tomatoes
Tej pata
Chilli powder
Dhaniya zeera powder
paanch phoron, if not available, simple zeera and mustard phoron will do too

Method:
First fry the fish in this way:
-- wash and keep the fish on a plate. Sprinkle salt (according to taste) and a little turmeric all over, and gently coat the fish well with the salt-turmeric .
--- Heat oil in kadai: mustard or vegetable- mustard oil tastes better (use adequate oil if you are a novice, if experienced, you may use less oil). The oil should be very hot when you put in the fish. So see if the oil is smoking well, then reduce the flame, then put in the fish pieces gently, or you will burn yourself. Care is essential if you are inexperienced, so keep a lid of kadai ready. Use the palta (khunti) itself to pick up fish pieces from plate and gently drop into the oil. Dont drop it from such a height that oil should splash onto your hand. Put 3 pieces only at a time, dont crowd, or they will break. If the oil is sputtering too much, cover with lid for few min.

All the while, abstain from peeping over the kadai, and keep yr face away.

---After putting in the pieces, increase the flame to medium. Let one side fry, the edges will brown. Then use khunti to turn over one piece at a time. Keep the fried pieces aside. You can fry them and keep some in fridge too, and use the pieces next day for another jhaal or jhol.

Now the jhol:
---Heat the same oil. Add tej pata, if available. If you are using paanch phoron, it will be better if you use it at the end. If only zeera and mustard, put it in hot oil, let it sputter, fry the potatoes for 3-4 min on low flame. Put in the cauliflower pieces. Put in the slit green chillies.
-- Fry for sometime, add salt, turmeric, stir and cover.
-- Uncover, stir, add ginger paste, zeera powder or dhaniya powder, or both -- according to your taste. Dont add too much of masala- 1/2 tsf is enough. Fry for 2 minutes, add chopped tomatoes. Cover for 3-4 minutes.
--- Uncover, stir, add water (2 cup), chilli powder, fried fish pieces and cover. (you can uncover after 2 minutes, taste and check the salt at this stage)
Check the tenderness of the potato and cauliflower pieces with a spoon after 7-10 minutes.
-- If you are using paach phoron, Heat a little ghee or oil in a different kadai or a small phoron kadai, if you have one. looks like a small kadai with long handle. Let the oil or ghee smoke, add a pinch of paanch phoron, and as it is sputtering, pour it into the jhol.

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You can make a simple jhol/jhaal without vegetables, takes only few minutes.
For that, After frying the fish, fry potatoes cut lengthwise into long thin pieces. Add green chillies, 1/4 chopped onion if you wish - onion is not necessary. Add salt, turmeric, little zeera- dhaniya powder, ginger paste, and fry for 2- 3 min. As it starts getting stuck, add tomato pieces, and stir well. After3- 4 min, add water, chilli powder, fish pieces and cover. It will be ready when the potatoes are cooked!!

Hope this helps! Do ask if you have any doubts!!

[Sourav]

wow! !!! so fast !!! impressive

[bablubhai]

Thanks that's so fast .. really impressive parul . thank you very much .. in this cold weather really feel like having Macher JHOL and hot rice...

[bablubhai]

By the way Parul are you bengali ? because paach poron .. tejpata .. these are essentials of bengali cooking ..

[Anju]

Yes, I am Bengali. So most of my posts will be Bengali dishes, but I know and like a lot of non-Bengali dishes too, as I have lived outside WB all my life. Welcome to the group.

[Sourav]

Bablu, what about trying this "Ilish Jhol" oneday together ... we can ask Meenakshi and others who would be interested in a bengali cuisine ...
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[bablubhai]

Saurav .. I am volunteering for this ... please try to convince Meenakshi ... I am it for it ... I think Meenakshi could cook a bit . try to get her in this forum ...

[Sourav]

Meenakshi is already in this forum

For the cooking, well probably we can all help and share

She was telling that she is having a batch mate, and we could also discuss this with Anindita and Sumeet probably ... let's see
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[bablubhai]

Saurav .. no regrets ... I will take care of FISH ... the only question is that how to cook ? .. I will send a post to Meenakshi JI and ask her what she thinks ...

[Sourav]

[bablubhai]

Well Saurav sir . i have sent a PM to meenakshi inviting her to give her opinions in this thread ..

[Sourav]

[bablubhai]

It would be really kind of you also to please invite her in this thread. by the way PARUL MADAM are u in paris or you are coming to paris ? if you are already in paris then you can also join in

[Sourav]

[Meena]

hmm, read all the posts. I am in for it, though i am not much experienced in cooking, but it sounds quite easy to me, so we can definitely try it one day, we all can cook it together, but baaje hole amake blame korona