Chuna Machha Chadchadi - almost

-
When I'm working from home & don't have any urgent meetings to sit on... I crave for some good old "Pakhala bhata" with some fish fry or some other sort of fritters... after all, rice for lunch is good :)

What I tried today is a Odiya favorite dish which is made on lazy afternoons with the smell of small fish (aka Chuna Machha) spreading all around... But I used smelt fish (which is the nearest to what we get in Odisha). I have tried other recipes with this fish which are in the blog already. This one is a quicker version & dry-ish dish for accompanying the all time favorite "Pakhala Bhata".





What I used

  • Smelt fish (1Lb), cleaned, marinated with salt & turmeric for around 20 mins. 
  • 1 small red onion sliced
  • 1 small tomato chopped
  • 1 table spoon of mustard paste (Mustard seeds + garlic + green chili + cumin seeds + water)
  • 1 tsp pancha phutana
  • Mustard oil
  • Salt & turmeric
Process here
  • Heat mustard oil in a non-stick pan (its the best pan for soft fish like smelt)
  • Fry the marinated fishes very carefully till light red in color. Remove & keep aside
  • In the same oil (add some more if need be) add panch phutana & wait till it splutters
  • Next add the onions & fry till golden brown
  • Next goes in the mustard paste + tomatoes + wee bit salt & turmeric
  • Mix & cover & cook until the tomatoes are soft
  • After 7 -8 mins (on low flame) open cover, add red chili powder & mix well.
  • At this point, add some warm water & cover and let the masala bubble up.
  • Open cover, add the fishes, mix well & add little more water & then cover again.
  • After 2 or 3 mins, transfer everything to a bowl (don't keep in the pan else the fish might get harder)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gluten Free Almond Flour Mango Cake

-
Image
 Here's my take on the Gluten Free mango Cake.... There's not a story behind it other than the fact that I am trying to reduce sugar & gluten in my diet due to the health reasons & this cake gave me everything that I need for those late evening sweet cravings without feeling guilty or sad or having to plan extra time on the treadmill the next day.  This cake is made from almond flour so it's on the denser side & not entirely fluffy BUT it is soft & makes for an awesome tea time accompaniment.  Here's what I used... Wet ingredients 1 cup mango puree 3 eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 cup vegetable oil (or butter) Dry ingredients 2.5 cups of Almond flour 2 tsp baking powder Process First mix all the wet ingredients in a clean bowl using a wire whisk Then add in the baking powder & almond flour Mix nicely using a spatula - DO NOT USE Wire whisk  Transfer the contents to a greased 10 inch round cake tin Bake until tooth-pick comes out clean on 325 F for ab
Read more

Chicken Patra Poda

-
Image
 Since the last few days, I have been binge watching YouTube videos of some Odiya Vloggers in the US. There are some really entertaining folks who sing & dance & go about their lives while sharing ups & downs with us (their subscribers). Sometimes they get too personal but it's the age of Social Media so I guess that is perfectly fine if the creator is OK with that. These folks that I watch are mostly girls ..Actually they are all girls.. hmm.. time for me to expand the scope a bit?? may be !!.  Anyways, one of the girls, lives in the eastern part of US & has a HUGE Odiya friends circle who meet almost every week for a party or picnic or potluck and she makes these yummy (almost) contemporary style Odiya food recipes that it makes me want to go back to the east coast & make her my sister. Yes, I used to live there & the first chance I got I left because of the harsh winters. I just could not bear the mere thought of getting up at 7am in the morning & spe
Read more

Chicken Besara

-
Image
We odiyas have grown up with the idea of mustard paste being added to cook fish & shrimp & veggies.. but never ever had I imagined that I could use the same concept (little tricked & changed of course to fit the bill) for chicken too.. It was a fine Saturday mid-day when the craving of having something non-veg spicy came into my mind (errrr.. my stomach..) .. The freezer had some chicken drummets from store.. which were shrieking out to be used... And just a few days back.. I had seen a post somewhere about using mustard paste with chicken gravy.. I thought I should totally try it... This was new to me..and I must confess the gravy was a super hit... we ate double the amount of white rice .. and saved some for later too.. Everyone who loves chicken and mustard paste should totally try this.. and Enjoy with white fluffy rice.. :) What I used Around 1.5 Lbs of chicken drummets (small chicken legs) 2 table spoons of black & yellow mustard seeds 1 table spoon o
Read more