Food is not just a mean to satisfy our hunger, rather it serves as an art characterised by distinct techniques with a mix of specific culture. Various factors like local ingredients, traditions, and customs get involve in the process to create a unique dish. Therefore here I present before you a very popular recipe of the Bengali households- " Mach ar Matha Dia Moong Dal", prepared to relieve all from the daily toil of excavating some distinct cuisine at the dinner table to please your taste buds. This is a very nostalgic recipe of my grandmother who used to spoil me with these delicacies. Let's try our hands on this special recipe today.
Mach ar Math dia Moong Dal/Moong Dal cooked with Fish Head...
Ingredients-
250 g Mach ar Matha (fish head)
100 g Moong Dal
Mustard Oil
2 pcs Dried Red Chillies
1 pc Bay Leaf
2 pcs Cardamoms
2 pcs Cloves
1 pc Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 Onion, big sized
1 Tomato, medium sized
1 tbsp Ginger Paste
1 tbsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli powder
1 tsp Black Pepper powder
3 pcs Green Chillies
Water
Salt and Sugar to taste
Ghee
1 tbsp Garam Masala powder
Method-
Marinate the cleaned fish head with salt and turmeric. Set aside.
Heat a thick bottomed kadai or wok and dry roast the moong dal while continuously stirring on medium heat till golden brown in colour. You can smell the roasted moong dal. Transfer to a pot and wash with cold water to stop cooking further. Wash the roasted dal, then drain the water. Add 5 grams of salt and 500 gram water and set it to boil, partially covered with a lid until the dal is cooked but still holds shape. The dal should not break because it is going to cook again with the fish head. Heat mustard oil in a pan and fry the fish head on low heat until well browned on all sides. Set aside the fried fish head on a plate.
In a bowl add the turmeric, cumin, kashmiri red chilli powder, black pepper powder and ginger paste. Make a slurry with a couple of tablespoons of water. Dice onion very fine and set aside. Coarsely dice tomatoes. Heat mustard oil in a kadai and temper with dried red chillies, bay leaf, whole cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon and cumin seeds. Add the diced onion and fry till golden brown in colour (about five minutes). Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until they soften. Add the spice slurry and fry until the raw smell of the spices goes away. Add 2 slit green chillies and fry. Add the fried fish head. Braise with the spices. Add the boiled moong dal and 300 grams of hot water. Add salt and sugar as per your taste.
Cover and simmer on low heat until the dal thickens (about 2 minutes).
Turn off the heat. Finish with one slit green chilli, ghee and a pinch of Bengali garam masala. Give it one final stir, cover tightly with a lid and rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Serve with steaming hot Basmati rice or any quality of rice and alu bhaja or beguni. Please do try this recipe at your home and let me know how it was in the comments section below. Also do share and follow me for more such easy,tasty and delightful recipes.
Thank you. Enjoy.
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