Maach Bhoona Tarkari – Fish Browned Curry

Maach Bhoona Tarkari is a deliciously browned but oh-so-light Bangladeshi Fish Curry and I will share more about it in just a moment. First let me confess something: I can’t believe I used frozen cod to make it this week. Why? Because it turned out to be pretty delicious! There was a pungent or fishy undertone to start off with (mainly because it was frozen I think), and I was afraid it would dry out and get all flaky, not the way fish is supposed to taste and feel at all. But as you’ll see below, it wasn’t difficult or time consuming either. Okay, let me explain. You know I am Bangladeshi-Canadian. People in the largest delta in the world, Bangladesh, (where the River Ganges flows into the sea) can be snobs about the flavours, textures and uniqueness of the nearly 800 species of fish found in their many rivers. Consequently, there are two prejudices I have (had) about fish — nothing tastes as good as sweet water or riverine fish, and you can’t make a decent fish curry with frozen fish –unless it’s from Bangladesh.

I’m revising both reservations rather expeditiously because firstly, I love fish; second, in these COVID times I’m not going to the store in person; and finally, it follows that I have to make do with whatever I can order online for delivery or pick up. With regard to my first point, that I love fish, you could say that I was born with it. My mother used to tease me as the only “bangal” in the family — a term used for people who are rustic and, (in politically incorrect terms, alas) somewhat common. Fish curry for dinner was taboo in her extended family home where imperial influences from Great Britain were expressed in western style evening menus comprising Anglo-Indian dishes like cutlets, potato chops (not at all like lamb chops but delicious nonetheless) and, angrezi (English) style fish baked in a white sauce–if fish were served at all. So my commitment to fish curry at all times, night or day, set me provocatively apart from my immediate family. All of which means that in my view there’s little in the world to compare with a fish curry –when it’s done well.

Getting it right depends on getting the right kind of fish. And so to my second point. Not going to the store in person has been a challenge in more ways than one. If this tedious virus is not running amuck in your city, I recommend you head to your fish store and find fish as fresh as possible, preferably cut up into steaks, bone-in, which is the best cut for a curry. In normal times, I’d have gone to the fish counter in my neighbourhood grocery store, or to another regular haunt, this one for all things Bangladeshi, a compact little store with the grand name Taj Mahal, in my Mississauga, Ontario, neighbourhood. They offer a brilliant selection of (frozen) sweet water river fish and prawns from Bangladesh. Not as full of flavours as the real thing, of course. Fresh is best. And that is why I feel so good that my recipe worked with frozen Wild Alaskan Cod, packaged in China but originally from the Pacific I assume. (I read somewhere that if the original fish is from Alaska, they can say so on the packaging, even though it’s sent off to be processed and re-shipped to Canada, from China).

And yes, a word about the words I’ve used: Maach is fish in Bangla; machli, macchi in Urdu and Hindi. Bhoona means to be browned (verb: bhoono) and you do this by stir-cooking your ingredients on low heat to get a roasted flavour and texture. Madhur Jaffery describes it very nicely in her book, Ultimate Curry Bible (page 38). Tarkari is a Bangla word and has two usages — it refers to vegetables, generally, and also for a dish with a sauce, so a kind of alternative word for curry. 

My Maach Bhoona Tarkari or Fish Browned Curry recipe below is for a dry curry, with the sauce or masala quite browned, but with the fish pieces intact and moist. The contrast between the roasted flavours of the sauce, with the soft flesh of the fish is delectable. My younger son made it this week -but with a little more shurwa or jhol (thinner sauce) as the picture below shows. 

I wanted my dish to be spicy but not chilly hot, and full of light summer flavours. A distinctive characteristic of Bangladeshi fish dishes in general is that spices are used selectively, avoiding the stronger spices like garam masala for instance — the aim being to enhance the flavour of the fish and not overpower it with a sauce. This is also a major reason I focus on making sure there is no “fishy” undertone, as I explain below. When you’re making this dish, as with any kind of sea food and fish, timing is a key element in getting the flavours to infuse without drying it out. Overcooking is a common mistake. Also, it is very important to start the pre-cooking stage early so that the fish thaws nicely and you can eliminate the fishy smell by marinating it– even if you’re cooking with fresh fish. Finally, chemistry is the name of the game: lower and increase the heat to harmonize with a particular stage of cooking. 

*PS My garlic paste got left out of the photograph! Mea Culpa.