Macha Manji Bara - Fish Eggs Odiya Style

After may be a decade, we had fish eggs cakes, totally Odiya style at home. I remember Baba used to get fish eggs (very rarely ever) & Mami would make these yummy cute little pan cakes & we would just gobble them up without waiting for the actual meal to come out to the table. It was silly but so much yummy fun. 

So this fish eggs packet was in Bangla market in Sunnyvale, CA which we bought imagining many many things. Both my husband and I are fish fans, so getting the fish eggs in a store in US of A in itself was a big deal. I don't think I even looked at the price. I am sure, it was overpriced, but who cares. We had fish eggs & I knew exactly what to do with it. 

Macha Manji Bara - Fish Eggs PanCakes (Not the type in Denny's, these are small almost bite size)

Things I used

• Macha manji or fish eggs/roe (1/2 Lb) - I know its too much but thats what the Bangla store had. It was frozen, so had to defrost it in luke warm water (not in MW) for about an hour or many be more. 
• 1/2 red onion chopped finely
• 3 green chillies chopped finely
• 1 table spoon besan (for binding of course)
• 1 tsp red chilli powder (for taste, skip if you don’t like)
• Salt + Turmeric
• Mustard oil for shallow frying

Process

• Mix everything except for the mustard oil. Use your hands, they are the most effective in this case because fish eggs can be lumpy sometimes. The mixture won’t be very even & its okay. 
• Heat mustard oil in a non stick pan.
• When the oil’s hot (light smoke comes off it), using either your hands or a spoon, put small amounts of the mixture into the hot oil. 
• The fish eggs will come together very soon, so keep the flame on low to medium to prevent burning. 
• After around 3 mins or so, turn the cakes over. The fried side will be red & will look yummy. 
• Same goes for the other side as well. 
• Once done, you may choose to drain oil on a kitchen tissue or just serve directly. 

The macha manji bara goes well with almost everything like Rice+Dal, Pakhala Bhata or just like that as a snack with tea. 

Hope you enjoy !!