Begun Sorshe Diye Macher Jhal (Bangda with aubergines in mustard curry)

Day 38 of lock down in India. The entire lock-down phase has been such a great learning for each and everyone of us. Be it how to utilize whatever resources we have, managing our times, feeding our family and trying to keep our spirits up. I believe we are now more grateful towards everything we have in life. It had really been super busy days, managing work and home has been an uphill task but somewhat now we have started getting used to this new way of life. Focusing less on numbers and concentrating more on our own well-being mentally and physically. If each one of us takes ample care to follow the rules and try to make peace with the situation then probably we can get out of this sooner. On Labor Day (1st May), every year we feel happy to get another holiday, time away from work. This labor Day however it was very different. People are grateful to have a job, to be able to work for essential services, to go out of home to get essential services. I saw the happiness on the face of the lone vegetable vendor sitting by the curb, when people stopped by to buy veggies. The old lady sitting with a few bunch of bananas looked at me gratefully when I bought a few bananas from her. We have all started to appreciate the fact that we have a living. Also it's Maharashtra Day for us. There are still places in my city and country where people are finding it hard to get essentials. I was really lucky to get some fish around my area when I least expected. The rules for shop opening timings are changing in my area on a daily basis almost. Since I am in one of the red zones in Pune, the rules are very stringently imposed by the police over here. Last week the shops were opening by 8 AM, but today when I went out the shops were either half shutter down or fully closed. They informed that now onward it will be from 10 AM to 12 PM strictly. But still I was lucky to get some Bangda. Indian Mackerel or more commonly known as Bangda is very popular in Maharashtra. I was not even aware of this fish when I was in west Bengal, but over here it is widely eaten. Not as pricey as the Pomphret but still I feel this one packs a punch. Many folks, one of them being my mom doesn't really like the strong smell of the fish. But I totally love it. It is very similar in smell to Hilsa. And since in this part of Pune I do not get good Hilsa supply, I usually make do with Bagda whenever I am in mood of having fried fish by the side of the main course. Here in Pune Bangda is popularly had either fried or made into a malwani curry. But making a malwani curry takes a lot of effort and not always we have the time to make such an elaborate preparation. Also amidst lockdown its very unlikely to find all the primary ingredients of a Malwani curry. Especially in my area I am not finding any coconut. Today being an office holiday, decided to make something different with Bagda which was quick and easy. Thus came the thought of creating a fusion of Bengal and Maharashtra. Now this is the first time I was trying to make an unconventional curry with Bangda so I didn't want to risk it too much. The curry had to be something which had bold flavors to neutralize the strong smell of Bangda, just in case. A quick discussion with mom led to a few options which I could try, out of which mom recommended mostly the shorsher jhal. Now the pre-requisite was that I had some big brinjals which were getting spoiled so wanted to use them as well. Yes the lock down has made us follow the no waste strategy religiously. So finally after much discussion decided to go with a sorsher jhal with brinjal and Bangda (Bangda with aubergines in mustard curry), a typical preparation with our favorite Hilsa. The outcome is pretty close in terms of flavors to the Hilsa version. And now I am wondering why I never tried this ever before. One more good day with a lot to be grateful about. #Staysafe #Beathome

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Marination Time: 10 minutes  
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• Bangda / Mackerel -  4 medium sized, halved
• Brinjal (Bharta Baigan) - 1 medium
• Garlic cloves - 6-7
• Curd - 1/4th cup
• Green chilli - 2-3
• Kalonji - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric
• Mustard powder - 1 tsp
• Mustard Oil
• Salt & Sugar as per taste

Procedure: 

1.  If you are using medium sized Bangda then halve it in center or else if you are using small Bangda then just a few slits across the center would be good. Clean fish and marinate with turmeric and salt for 20 mins 

Tip: You can use any other fish also in this preparation like Rohu or Katla. I am recommending this because one of my friends tried my recipe with Katla and her feedback is that it came out great.

2.  Take a wok and add mustard oil. Heat it till its steaming. Fry the fishes and keep aside.

3. Blend in the curd, turmeric and mustard powder. Let it rest for minimum 10-15 minutes. The reason for this is mustard is pungent so to neutralize the bitterness a bit resting it in water or curd helps. 

4. Now take a trainer and sieve this mixture to get a uniform texture. This will prevent having lumps in the gravy. Keep this aside.

5. Cut brinjal into thick cubes and fry it in the same oil. Keep it aside.

Note: Here you can use the small or any other variants of Brinjal too. I even had a few ridge gourd which I added to the curry. Though its not the authentic way but it tasted great. Since the texture of ridge gourd aligns with brinjal hence they didn't clash. 

6. Heat oil. Temper it with kalonji, slitted green chilli and coarsely ground garlic. Fry till fragrant

7. Add half cup water, add salt and sugar as per taste. Add the fishes and let it simmer for 3 to 4 mins

8. Add the curd-mustard paste to it. Make sure flame is low so that curd doesn't curdle.

9. Cover it and let it simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes

Serve it with steamed rice and enjoy!

Do try this out and tag me (@curriesnstories07) on Instagram on your photos whenever you try the recipe and I will give a shout out to you.