East Indian

Maccha Besara (Odia Fish in Mustard-Poppy Paste)

Name: Maccha Besara (Odia Fish in Mustard-Poppy Paste)
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: East Indian
Ingredients: 1.5 lb fish steaks (rohu or local river fish); 1 tsp turmeric; 2 tbsp mustard seeds; 1 tbsp poppy seeds; 3 green chilies; 4 tbsp mustard oil; 1/2 tsp panch phoron (five-spice blend); 1.5 cups water; 1.25 tsp salt

Rina @rina_b

Maccha Besara (Odia Fish in Mustard-Poppy Paste) 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.

35 min Medium Low carb Pescatarian Halal Gluten free Dairy free

Ingredients

Serves

The quantities follow this count.

1.5 lb fish steaks (rohu or local river fish)
1 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp poppy seeds
3 green chilies
4 tbsp mustard oil
1/2 tsp panch phoron (five-spice blend)
1.5 cups water
1.25 tsp salt

How to cook it

Rub the fish pieces with turmeric and half the salt and set aside for 10 minutes.
Soak the mustard seeds and poppy seeds in warm water for 15 minutes, then grind with two of the green chilies into a smooth paste.
Heat the mustard oil in a pan and fry the fish pieces briefly until just golden, then set aside.
In the same oil, temper the panch phoron, then stir in the mustard-poppy paste, remaining turmeric, and salt, and cook gently for 2 minutes.
Add the water and remaining green chilies, bring to a simmer, and slide the fish back in.
Cook gently for 8 minutes until the fish is cooked through and the gravy lightly thickens, then serve hot with rice.

Watch how to cook Maccha Besara (Odia Fish in Mustard-Poppy Paste)

Someone making it start to finish, so you can see what the steps look like.

Serve it with

A East Indian dinner is a plate rather than a single dish. These are the courses that normally sit beside Maccha Besara (Odia Fish in Mustard-Poppy Paste), read from the same composition Dinejot builds a real meal from.

The cooked vegetable
- Aloo Bhaja (Bengali Fried Potato Strips)
  
  20 min
The protein alongside
- Arhar Dal (Bihari-Style Toor Dal)
  
  30 min
What it is eaten with
- Bajra Bhakri (Pearl Millet Flatbread)
  
  35 min

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. Maccha Besara (Odia Fish in Mustard-Poppy Paste) carries fish. It is free of the remaining 9 allergens on that list.

Every tracked allergen in Maccha Besara (Odia Fish in Mustard-Poppy Paste)
Allergen	In this dish	Cook this instead
Peanuts	No
Tree nuts	No
Dairy	No
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: 300 kcal
Protein: 26 g
Carbs: 8 g
Fat: 18 g
Fiber: 2 g
Sugar: 2 g
Sodium: 560 mg
Saturated fat: 2 g

Estimated values. Actual nutrition varies with ingredients, brands, and how you cook.

When to cook it

Maccha Besara (Odia Fish in Mustard-Poppy Paste) takes about 35 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.