East Indian
Macher Kalia (Bengali Rich Fried Fish Curry)
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Macher Kalia (Bengali Rich Fried Fish Curry) is East Indian home cooking, eaten at lunch and dinner. On the plate it is the dish at the centre. Below is what usually sits beside it, what it does and does not contain, and what else to cook once you have made it.
Ingredients
The quantities follow this count.
How to cook it
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Rub the fish steaks with turmeric and salt, and shallow fry in half the mustard oil, 2 minutes a side, until lightly golden. Set aside; frying the fish first, not stewing it raw, is what makes a kalia a kalia rather than a jhol.
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In the same oil, temper the bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves until fragrant.
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Add the finely sliced onion and fry until deep golden, about 10 minutes, then stir in the ginger paste for a minute.
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Add the red chili powder, remaining turmeric and salt, and bhunno 3 minutes, then whisk in the yogurt off the heat so it does not split.
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Return to a simmer, add the sugar and water, and cook 6 minutes until the gravy thickens slightly.
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Slide the fried fish back in gently, spoon the gravy over it, cover and simmer 8 minutes without stirring hard, so the pieces stay whole.
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Finish with the garam masala and serve hot with steamed rice.
Serve it with
A East Indian dinner is a plate rather than a single dish. These are the courses that normally sit beside Macher Kalia (Bengali Rich Fried Fish Curry), read from the same composition Dinejot builds a real meal from.
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The cooked vegetable
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The protein alongside
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What it is eaten with
A course labelled with another kitchen's name comes from a cuisine in the same family, which is where this plate usually borrows it from.
Safe at your table
Dinejot tracks ten allergens and tags every one of them by hand, so the absences below are as deliberate as the presences. Macher Kalia (Bengali Rich Fried Fish Curry) carries dairy and fish. It is free of the remaining 8 allergens on that list.
| Allergen | In this dish | Cook this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Peanuts | No | |
| Tree nuts | No | |
| Dairy | Yes | Aloo Posto (Potato in Poppy Seed Paste) |
| Gluten | No | |
| Shellfish | No | |
| Eggs | No | |
| Soy | No | |
| Fish | Yes | Aloo Posto (Potato in Poppy Seed Paste) |
| Sesame | No | |
| Coconut | No |
These tags are set by a person rather than inferred from an ingredient list, and they describe the recipe as written here. Read the labels on whatever you actually buy.
What it brings to the plate
Estimated, per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 25 g
- Carbs
- 8 g
- Fat
- 22 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sugar
- 3 g
- Sodium
- 480 mg
- Saturated fat
- 4 g
Estimated values. Actual nutrition varies with ingredients, brands, and how you cook.
When to cook it
Macher Kalia (Bengali Rich Fried Fish Curry) takes about 45 minutes from a cold stove to the table, and the cooking itself is a fair bit of work. It is eaten at lunch and dinner. Nothing in the calendar rules it out, so it is a year round dish.
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Cook this with your whole family
Dinejot plans breakfast, lunch and dinner as whole plates, built around the cooking you call home and filtered for the allergies at your table.
Meal suggestions support your goals. They are not medical advice. Please ask your doctor about your family's health needs.