Not that we can visit the fish market on a daily basis. Gone are the days when Baba went to get fresh fish early morning. With the macher jhola (the home stitched cotton bag) in hand he would walk down a short distance to buy fish.
He met his friends there, got time to exchange words and keep contact with them. Now people hardly have time for one’s own self. Everyone is so busy. Fresh hauls came to the daily fish market from the early morning fishing in the rivers and local lakes and ponds. Different varieties of fishes came in the bags and we enjoyed the taste when our Thakur (not God but our cook who we called Thakur) with Ma’s instruction cooked tasty dishes.
The bata mach (fish) is the kind we find in lakes and ponds. It is tasty small fish variety, no this is not very small like the Punti or Maurala, but bigger. Look at some fried ones here.
In mustard sauce this fish tastes very good. Let me tell you how I cooked it.
Bata Mach: 6 whole cleaned, washed and fried lightly after a rub with salt and haldi powder.
Mustard seeds: 2 tbsps
Green chillies: 3 I used 3 as these chillies were quite hot and spicy
Tomatoes: 4 finely chopped
Haldi powder: ½ tsp
Salt: to taste
Sugar: the quantity that suits your taste buds.
Mustard oil for frying the fish and cooking the gravy.
In my kitchen:
I washed the fish that had come dressed from the market.
Heated mustard oil in a wok (kadhai) and fried the fish and kept them aside.
Put the mustard seeds, green chillies and a pinch of salt in the grinding jar and made a paste.
With very little oil, about 2tsp in the same kadhai threw in the tomatoes. Cooked over low heat till the juices came out breaking down the flesh completely.
Once done added the mustard paste and added more water enough to boil and reduce to semi-thick gravy.
Then added salt and sugar and let the gravy cook over high flame.
Once it started to thicken, dropped in the fried fishes and cooked for a minute before switching off the flame.
Served it with rice and dal (which is a must with bhaat in our home).
My Ma’s tip for sores bata. While grinding sores on the seel nora (grinding stone) or in the mixie, add a pinch of salt which keeps away the bitterness of the sosrse (mustard seeds). She also adds green chillies as red chillies can cause stomach problems. I’ve been sticking to her advice.
