Muri Ghonto – Fish head curry

Fish in an integral part of Bengali diet. I would go so far to say, that all our food imaginations begin with – Fish 😉

And trust me on this, when I say, that we know to do justice to it too 😉 There is hardly any part of a fish, that we throw away. And we do have an eclectic repertoire of dishes !

Muri Ghonto, for the non- Bengalis, is an acquired taste. It is exotic, spicy and aromatic !

This is my mom’s recipe and she has many followers for her cooking 🙂 I do not have even 1/4 of her talent, I only try my best 🙂

For this, usually the heads of freshwater Carp or Catla is used. Here, I used the head of a 1.25 kg Carp.

Here’s what I did……….

INGREDIENTS

1 nos – fish head

1 1/2 tbsp – basmati rice

1 nos – medium sized potato

1 tsp – ginger paste

2 nos – green chilies

1 tbsp – tomato puree

1/2 tsp – tumeric powder + a fat pinch

1 tsp – red chili powder

1 tsp – cumin powder

1/3 tsp – cardamom and cinnamon powder (ground together or separately)

1 tbsp – oil + oil to fry

1/2 tsp – sugar

1 tsp – clarified butter/ ghee

1 1/2 cup – water

salt to taste

For tempering :

1/4 tsp – cumin seeds

1 nos – bay leaf

1″ stick – cinnamon

1 nos – green cardamom

METHOD

Wash and soak the rice in water for 20 mins.

Break the fish head into half. Wash and clean the fish head well. Sprinkle some salt and a fat pinch of tumeric powder and keep aside for 15 mins.

Peel the potatoes and dice. Heat oil in a wok and fry the potatoes for 2-3 mins. Drain it on a kitchen paper.

In the remaining oil, fry the fish head till golden brown.

Break the fried fish head into chunks.

 

 

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and temper with the ingredients listed under tempering.

Add the ginger paste and tomato puree. Cook for a min and then add the green chilies (slit from the centre), tumeric, chili and cumin powder. Sprinkle some water and cook for a couple of mins.

Drain the water from the rice and add to the spices. Fry well for a min so that the spices coat the rice. Add the fried potatoes and 1 1/2 cup water. Lower the flame and add salt. Cover and cook till rice is done.

Once the rice is cooked, add the fish head pieces, sugar and cardamom and cinnamon powder. adjust salt, if needed. Cover and cook for 2-3 mins. The fish head will absorb any remnant moisture. Pour the clarified butter and take it off fire.

Serve hot with plain boiled rice.

Happy cooking !! 🙂

Cheers !! 😀