East Indian

Shorshe Maach (Bengali Mustard Fish Curry)

Name: Shorshe Maach (Bengali Mustard Fish Curry)
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: East Indian
Ingredients: 1.5 lb fish steaks (rohu or katla); 1 tsp turmeric; 3 tbsp mustard seeds; 4 green chilies; 5 tbsp mustard oil; 1/4 tsp nigella seeds; 1 cup water; 1.25 tsp salt

Rina @rina_b

Shorshe Maach (Bengali Mustard 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.

40 min Medium Low carb Pescatarian Halal Gluten free Dairy free

Ingredients

Serves

The quantities follow this count.

1.5 lb fish steaks (rohu or katla)
1 tsp turmeric
3 tbsp mustard seeds
4 green chilies
5 tbsp mustard oil
1/4 tsp nigella seeds
1 cup water
1.25 tsp salt

How to cook it

Rub the fish pieces with turmeric and half the salt and let them sit for 10 minutes.
Soak the mustard seeds in warm water for 15 minutes, then grind them with two of the green chilies into a smooth paste, adding a splash of water if needed.
Heat the mustard oil in a pan until it just smokes, then fry the fish pieces briefly until lightly golden, and set aside.
In the same oil, temper the nigella seeds, then stir in the mustard paste, remaining turmeric, and salt, and cook gently for 2 minutes, being careful not to let it scorch.
Add the water and remaining slit green chilies, bring to a bare simmer, and slide in the fried fish.
Cook gently for 6 minutes without boiling hard, then finish with a drizzle of raw mustard oil and serve hot with rice.

Watch how to cook Shorshe Maach (Bengali Mustard Fish Curry)

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 Shorshe Maach (Bengali Mustard Fish Curry), 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. Shorshe Maach (Bengali Mustard Fish Curry) carries fish. It is free of the remaining 9 allergens on that list.

Every tracked allergen in Shorshe Maach (Bengali Mustard Fish Curry)
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: 310 kcal
Protein: 26 g
Carbs: 6 g
Fat: 20 g
Fiber: 2 g
Sugar: 2 g
Sodium: 570 mg
Saturated fat: 2 g

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

When to cook it

Shorshe Maach (Bengali Mustard Fish Curry) takes about 40 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.