I follow up my tel pona recipe with another quintessential Bengali favorite – Parshe Jhal – parshe (or mullet) cooked whole in a hot mustard sauce.
I remember those carefree childhood days, returning from school on a sultry April afternoon, grey clouds above, the dark river ahead, an ominous lull in the air, the world almost waiting with bated breath for the kal boisakhi (the afternoon storm) to arrive. And I sitting in our verandah, the lazy fan whirring, relishing my post-school meal of dal and parshe maacher jhal with steamed rice.
Those were the days.
Parshe Maacher Jhal – parshe (or mullet) cooked whole in a hot mustard sauce and flavoured with goodness of coriander leaves.
And if you do love your parshe as much as I do, my doi mouri parshe is yet another must-try, guaranteed to transport you to food heaven !!!
Parshe Maacher Jhal
Ingredients
- 1 kg parshe about 8 - 10
- 5 tbsp mustard paste
- 2 tomatoes large , pureed
- 4 - 5 green chillies slit
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tsp red chilli powder
- 2 tsp nigella seeds or kalonji
- 5 tbsp mustard oil
- 1/2 cup coriander leaves chopped
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Marinate the fish with turmeric and salt. Heat mustard oil in frying pan and fry the fish till light brown on both sides. Keep the fish aside.
- Reheat the same oil, add the kalonji seeds and green chillies; when the seeds start to crackle, add the tomato puree, remaining turmeric powder, red chili powder and salt.
- Cook on a moderate flame till oil has been released from the masala paste. At this stage, add the mustard paste and cook for a further 3-4 mins.
- Now add about 1 1/2 cups of warm water, add the fried fish, adjust salt and give it a nice stir and bring the curry to a boil.
- Add the coriander leaves and serve hot with steamed rice.
Hello, moumita di. This is saddhi mallick. I regularly follow your posts and tried your recipes at home. I and my family really liked your recipes. I am writing this note to for a suggestion from you. Hope you can help me out. I am planning of participating in a cooking competition which is on 6th January, where I would have to cook one dish with sea water fish. Kindly suggest me some recipes which I can prepare for my competition, if possible. I will wait for your reply. Thank you.
Hi Saddhi,
Can you please mail me with the options of the fish you would want to cook ? Shall revert back to you. My email id is maumita.paulghosh@gmail.com.
Best wishes
Hello. Actually I need to prepare one dish with sea water fish. So kindly suggest any sea water fish recipe which can be easily prepared and ingredients are easily available in market. Thank you moumita di for replying back.
Hope prawns get counted under seafood. You can try Kosha chingri or gondhoraj chingri from the blog 🙂
Thanks for the recipe. It’s amazing. Tried it, only used fennel seeds instead of Nigella seeds. It was my first time cooking Bengali food, and I loved it!
Thank you fir sharing that recipe. I already tasted it by sight! Reached this recipe because I was trying to google what paarshe is in english. You said mullet. I am familiar with red mullet in italian cooking. I am a delhi bong and had not tasted paarshe. My mother used to cook a brilliant pabda with shorshe. That is probably also why your recipe was so enticing!
Looks Delicious!
Sure 🙂 any day… Just come to home ….
I would like to have this please.