Last year when I was in Kolkata for my annual vacation time, I could spend prolonged time at my hometown. Because of the work from home policy, for the first time after I left home for my job, I could spend so much time back at home. And once you stay for so long you start understanding what you have been missing staying away from your home state. Like almost every weekends we would go and spend time at my relatives, there would be long adda sessions just like the old times when I was in my teens. It would be so good spending time talking with others instead of being glued to the phone or laptop. 

Then there would be the trips of the local produce markets. Kolkata has undoubtedly some of the best produce market in the whole country. The moment you step into one you will be bedazzled with the vast variety of fresh vegetables, fruits and fishes. The sheer variety of leafy vegetables itself is such a temptation, mainly because in Pune where I live, the variety is limited to maximum 3-4 varieties at a time. I think more than going out for sightseeing in Kolkata I love visiting the produce markets. For a foodie like me, they are literally a temptation central. 

The third thing is definitely the availability of infinite choices of street food. You would get the most exotic flatbreads and curries even in your neighborhood food shack. I would often get rumali rotis and chicken chaap packed from my nearest food shack and it was super delicious. You are really spoilt for choices I food when you are in Kolkata. I wonder how people manage to maintain their weights, because the moment I see all those street food I am tempted to eat them all! And best part, it is cheap. Street food in Kolkata would not burn a hole in your pocket but definitely make you full. 

And not only street foods, since you have so many relatives around whenever you visit their home you get treated to delicious home made food. Some of them which I had not had in like million years. Just like the dish called Muri ghonto - a signature dish in Bengali cuisine. Muri or Muro in Bengali means fishhead. So Muri ghonto literally translates to fish head medley. Traditionally there are a couple of ways to make it - either the crispy fried fish head is cooked with rice like a biryani or it is cooked with daal. Muri ghonto is typically considered to be a side dish and is had along with rice. So in yesteryears it was also made with chide or poha (flattened rice) instead of rice. I think the recipe originated to utilize the leftover fish heads in the household in older days. Our great grandmas and grandmas were really pro chefs who could think of making such amazing lip smacking dishes from even leftover ingredients. And Bengali cuisine is full of many such traditional recipes which were born out of the need to use leftover produce. 

To be honest, I had only head about muri ghonto before but never got the chance to taste it. Since the cooking process for this recipe is a little elaborated and many a times the fish heads are the most under rated things, gradually not many households used to make these old elaborate recipes on daily basis. So last year when I was visiting one of my masis home and she informed that my dida (grandma) was making muri ghonto for us that day I was really excited. And I was so ill informed about this dish that I had thought muri ghonto was like other ghontos where you would make a medley of some veggies and masalas and add the fish head to it. But at the lunch table when my dida served the muri ghonto, to my surprise it had rice in it.  I was a little flabbergasted for a few seconds, I was trying to understand how to eat a rice dish as a side with steamed rice. But then I decided what the heck, let me just try it on its own first. So i took the very first spoonful of it and was totally taken aback by the flavourful dish. Rich in spices, the flavour of the fried fish head was like the perfect match with the aromatic gobindobhog rice. To the uninitiated the combination of fish head in rice might sound a little weird but believe me it was really a match made in heaven and you wont understand how good it tastes unless you eat the version made by someone's grandma. Yes that's right, you just cannot bring the magic into this dish that your grandma would! 

But I was not gonna let that deter me from making this myself. So once I was back in Pune I asked my mom to get the recipe from grandma once again ( because I had forgotten when she had told me) and decided to go all in for it. How bad can it be was what I was thinking when I made it. And surprisingly it turned out amazing even at the first try. I was so overjoyed by it that I made it again a couple of times and each time loved it more. So I am now sharing this recipe with you all. While I would still say this definitely would not measure upto what your grandma would probably make but still it is worth the try - at least you will be able to keep a traditional recipe going and help it not get lost in the folds of time. I have added raisin and cashew in this recipe because I liked the taste. But traditionally they are not added so you can skip it. Also if you would have noticed from the title itself this is a pressure cooker method I have used just to make your lives easier and believe it the consistency turned out great. But if you have enough time at hand then go for a kadai method by all means. At the last step instead of pressure cooker use the kadai and cook it.

Ingredients :

• Catla Fish Head - 4 half pieces
• Gobindobhog/ Ambemohar Rice - 200 gm
• Onion - 1 medium sized, chopped
• Potato - 1 big, cubed
• Garlic Cloves - 8-9 or 1 tsp
• Ginger - 1 1/2 inch or 1 tsp
• Dried Red Chili - 3
• Bay Leaf - 2
• Kismis (Raisin) - 15-20 (Optional)
• Kaju (Cashew) - 8-10 (Optional)
• Cardamom - 3
• Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
• Cloves - 2-3
• Jeera Powder - 1 tsp
• Dhaniya (Coriander) powder - 1 tsp
• Kashmiri Red Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Garam Masala powder - 1 pinch (optional)
• Green Chili - 2-3 slitted
• Ghee - 1 1/2 tsp + 1 tsp
• Mustard Oil - 1/3 cup
• Salt - as per taste
• Sugar - as per taste
• Warm water - as needed

Procedure:

1. Take the fish head from a big Catla or a paka mach as we say in Bengali. For this recipe I had taken the head of a Catla fish which weighed around 1.5 to 2 Kg. Clean the head thoroughly. If you want to keep the gills you can clean it and keep them too. Marinate the clean fish heads with 1/2 tsp of turmeric, salt and 1/2 tsp of mustard oil. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes.

2. Now wash the rice till the water runs clear. Drain the water and place the washed rice in a sieve with small pores. Place a bowl below to collect any excess water. Let it air dry. Or put it under a fan. The sieve will help in better air circulation and dry the rice easily. It will take around 30 minutes for the rice to dry.

3. Make a paste of the ginger and garlic. Chop the onions finely. Keep aside.

4. To make the masala paste in a bowl take turmeric, red chili powder, jeera powder, dhaniya powder and garam masala powder. Add 2 tbsp of water, give it a good mix and let the masala paste rest for 10-15 minutes before using it.

5. Heat mustard oil in a Kadai. When the oil is hot fry the marinated fish heads in batches till it is a little browned on both sides. Keep it aside.

6. In the same oil fry the cubed potatoes till the sides start getting some color. We don't need to completely cook the potatoes at this stage. Keep aside. 

7. Now take mustard oil and 1 tsp ghee in a Kadai and heat it. Once the oil is hot, add the Kaju and Kismis. Fry on medium heat for about a minute. Now add the airdried rice. Fry for about 1-2 minutes on medium heat. Take out the fried rice with kaju and kismis in a separate bowl. 

Note: Please note Kaju & kismis is totally optional. It is not traditionally added to muri ghonto, but I like the sweetness from the kismis and the crunch of the kaju in the final version hence I added these.

8. Now top up the mustard oil and 1 tsp ghee in the same Kadai and heat it. Once the oil is hot, toss in the bay leaves, whole red chili (break the chili and add), cloves, cinnamon and cardamom. Give it a toss till fragrant. 

9. Add the chopped onions and a pinch of salt. Fry till the onions are slightly browned. 

10. Add the ginger garlic paste. Sauté till the raw smell is gone.

11. Now add the masala paste that you had made in Step 4. Give it a good stir. Cook the masalas till oil separates. 

12. Add the fried fish heads and fried potato cubes into the masala. Fold everything in so that the fish heads are coated in the masala. Fry for 2 minutes. 

13. Now add the fried rice you prepared in step 7. Fold everything in. If you like break the fish heads at this point. I liked to keep them fairly whole so that it is easy to fish them out while serving.

14. I made this recipe in a pressure cooker/pan so amount of water is very important here. We do not want a completely dry or a completely mushy texture at the end. Transfer the whole thing from the Kadai to the pressure cooker/pan. Add exactly 2 times the water of the amount of rice you had taken and then add about 1/4 cup of more water. For me this was the perfect water ratio. Throw 2-3 slitted green chili. Stir in 1 tsp of ghee and a pinch of garam masala powder. Close the lid and pressure cook it for two whistles. Let the rice sit for a while without any flame before you open the lid. 

Usually Muri ghonto is considered a side dish which is served with steamed rice. But I had added more rice to make this muri ghonto because I wanted to have it as is, somewhat like a pulao. I had it with fresh salad.