Kancha Aam diye tyangra maacher jhol

 A bedridden mother is one of the most painful sights for any child, across geographical divisions. Yet for a Bengali household, it holds great importance, almost labelled as a turning point. The kids, male or female, have to grow independent, since the paternal affection although palpable, yet fail miserably to cope up and live up to the expectation of day to day chores of running a a household. A lot of it pertaining to kitchen goals. Yes, i am speaking of the men belonging to an era where they were happily deprived of such important knowledge. My father is one among them. Want to ask me more questions on that? I am motor mouth but ranting bout it anymore will not help. Period.

For all fish loving Bengalis, I am being extra racist about the race because I am ignorant about the availability of this fresh water fish in any other region. Getting back, for all fish lovers this is adored often, though you will be saddened if you look for it in  the menu of the oh-so-posh Bengali restaurants. One needs to frequent the "pice-hotel" ( known to solely rely on the fresh catch of the day procured from trusted fish mongers at the market) a forgotten and snubbed culture of glorious days,  to relish this. But for households this is a part of their daily deal. My sister for one, loves it to death.

While Tyangra maach-er jhol is no stand out dish, but this one is special. My late maternal grandmother, the best-est (fuck grammar) cook I have ever known, God bless her soul, used to cook it for all of us. We are talking about a perfect balance of tang, salt, and kick of heat. Mind you she would achieve all o that balance without tasting even for once, only guided by her instincts. Coz she only ate Hilsa, nothing else. 

I will now share the recipe. Make it or not, read it though, for it's humble, simple and is enveloped in a sort of maternal affection. I miss my childhood !

1. 300gm of tyangra  maach (medium to big size), is washed, gutted, cleaned. Pat them dry with kitchen towel. Massage them with 1/2tsp turmeric and salt and keep aside for a while.

2. Peel 1no medium potato, weighing approx.. 75gm, and slice them into thin shards. Chop 1 tomato, about 60gm to be precise into rough thin slices. 1/2 green mango to be peeled and sliced into long thin shards, weighing close to 65-70gms.

3. In a small bowl mix the following powdered spices: 1tsp coriander powder + 1tsp cumin powder+ 1/3tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder+ 1tsp (heaped) red chilli Timur with 3tbsp water. Give a good stir.

4. Heat about 3tbsp mustard oil in a pan with wider surface area. As it heats up, sprinkle about 1tbsp whole-wheat flour (atta) on the marinated whole fish, and fry them in the oil for 2min each till they acquires some colour. Be careful as it splutters in gallons. Take it out and keep aside.

5. Into the same oil fry the potato shards for about 1.5min, till the edges slightly colour, take them off the heat and keep aside.

6. Into the same oil, add 1/2tsp nigella seeds, 4 sliced green chillies. As the chillies change colour bund in the tomatoes with a pinch of sale, and cover. cook on medium low flame for few minutes till tomatoes dis-integrate completely. Once done, add the spice mix, increase the flame a tad bit and cook covered till the raw smell disappears. Be careful to keep a strict vigil, the spices shouldn't get too dry or burnt or get stuck to the base. 

7. Once the raw smell disappears, bung in the fried potatoes and toss or mix with the spices, add in about 1 tumbler of water+ 1tsp salt. Mix, and bring it to a boil, uncovered. Scoop out the scum, if any, afloat on the surface at this stage,

8. Time to add the fried fish and the mangoes into the boiling gravy. Make sure to arrange space for all the fish, so they can cook evenly or else there is chance for them to breakdown, which is not encouraged. Clamp on the lid, reduce flame to medium and cook for at least 5-7mins.

9. In between, after 3-4min, the mangoes would have softened, mash them and mix slightly. After 7min, uncover, the gravy must have thickened by now adjust salt and 1/4tsp sugar and we are done. Finish it with 1tsp of mustard oil drizzled on top and some chopped coriander leaves and sliced green chillies.

10. This has to be consumed with steamed rice. Period !

In my previous recipe I had shared a recipe of my Mother, which I recreate now at the drop of a hat. Even though the taste profiles are quite different yet I feel special always while making it. This one, that way is a memory I will always cherish. If u observe carefully, the chopped coriander is wilted. That's because this happens to be a quarantine cooking when photographed. Limited or no resources shouldn't be a reason for you to shy away from cooking, or not revisiting an old memory.  I gather strength my dwelling in such nostalgic lanes.

No special points are needed as such but yes, feel free to replace Timur with some regular red chilli powder. Also the number of green chillies is to be decided by your ability to absorb heat. 

I take leave this afternoon with a promise to be safe and take good care of my health. I expect all you readers to do the same, for we have a long road ahead to traverse together. more pages of flavour to turn over and more meals awaiting to be consumed. Ta-ta !