Macher Bhorta | Fish Bharta | Mach Makha| Bengali Style Mashed Fish

 

October 18

Bhortas or bharta as we call it in pan India, are the quintessential Bengali food, a staple in Bangladeshi cuisine. They are the underdogs when it comes to festive recipes, because they are never part of the menu in any grand celebration. But in a day to day life, they are those things which brighten up any meal. Mustard oil is one of the main key ingredient in any Bharta to give it the required edgy taste and flavour. You will be surprised to know the wide range of bhartas prepared in any Bangladeshi home, basically anything and everything that you eat can be turned into a bharta form. In simple words it a mash of ingredients. And whatever is the star ingredient it can be either - fried, roasted, steamed, charred or boiled. Every method used gives a very distinct flavour to the bhorta.  Some of the bhorta examples - aloo bhorta, brinjal bhorta, egg bhorta, fish bhorta, cauliflower leaves bhorta, bottle gourd skin bhorta, tomato bhorta, prawns bhorta, lentil bhorta and even mango bhorta. So basically you get the drift. We can make bhorta out of even thin air :D. And we dearly love our bhortas, because they are just too yummy to resist.

I had some large pieces of Rohu sitting in my freezer for long. I had got these pieces of fish from a local village old lady and it turned out to be not so fresh. I realized after using a few pieces of them in a fish curry, so it was out of question to use them for fish curry again. hence I had just stashed them in the freezer and forgotten all about it. Originally I had intended to use them in ghonto or maybe even mooger daal, which has lots of spices and accompaniments which might be useful in subduing the taste of the fish. But I kept putting it off and then one fine day while scavenging into the freezer I saw these lying around. Holey Moley! What do I do with them - was the instant question again. Now that they are more dated I had to think even more hard to make them palatable. 

Lots of thoughts crossed my mind. Maybe croquettes. But that's too much of hard work for not so good fishes. Ghonto also didn't seem a good option anymore. That's when I remembered I can make them into bhorta or a fish mash. It was a super easy recipe which involved a handful of ingredients and a hearty one too. And mostly it was perfect to mask the taste and flavor of any fish whatsoever.

Finally when I made the bhorta it turned out lovely. The flavours of the garlic and spring onion totally masked any unwanted taste of the fish and I truly enjoyed it with my meal. So the final moral of the story - if you happen to have some dated fish and do not know what to do with them, make it into a bhorta. Believe me you will never regret it.

Marination Time : 30 minutes to 1 hour

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 15 minutes

Serving : 1 to 2

Ingredients:

• Rohu / Catla / Carp - 250 gm ( 2 medium to large sized fleshy/thick pieces)
• Onion - 1 chopped / Shallots - 1 cup, chopped
• Green Chilli - 2
• Spring Onion (green part) - 1 cup, chopped [Optional]
• Dry Red Chilli - 2
• Garlic Cloves - 5 to 6
• Salt
• Mustard oil 

Ingredients for Fish Marination:

• Turmeric powder - 1/4th tsp
• Salt as per taste

Equipment:

• Wok

Method:

1. Start by cleaning the fish. Now rub the fish with turmeric powder and salt, keep the aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes or an hour.

2. Fry the fish in mustard oil. It should not be deep fried or crisp. Fishes should be shallow fried till browned on the sides. Take out of the wok with a slotted spoon and let it cool to room temperature.

3. Now debone the fish carefully. After deboning just feel with your hands for any remaining bones in the flesh. Mash the fish and keep aside

Tip: If you take a bigger fish it will be easier to take out the bones, as there are less bones.

4. Heat some oil in the pan. When oil is hot add the dry red chilli, chopped onions, chopped green chilli and bruised garlic cloves. Sauté till the raw smell of the garlic is gone. Add the mashed fish. The heat should be on medium now. Add a pinch of turmeric and salt as per taste. Fold in to incorporate. Sauté it for a couple of minutes. Check for the seasoning and adjust.

Tip: Instead of onions you can also substitute it with shallots.

Note: I like adding the mashed fish to the wok to fry it a bit with the masala. If you do not like that bit, you can take the masala and add to the mashed fish in a bowl and be done.

5. Now add the chopped green part of spring onions. Fold in and cook for about one minute. Turn off the flame.  

Note: You can also add chopped fresh coriander leaves to this. I like the flavor of the spring onions better.

6. If you want to go the traditional way, now take it out in a bowl and give a final mash with your hands. However you can just roll it into small balls as is and serve it with rice and daal and enjoy too.

Note: Bhortas are traditionally served by rolling into balls 

Note: Pardon the bad pictures. I was in too much of a hurry to eat :D