Although, Bengali cuisine is famous for its meat and fish delicacies, and fish is so much loved by the Bengalis, that there is a phrase which somehow sums up a Bengali regular food, ‘Maache Bhate Bangali’(which means fish and rice make a Bengali). But this is also true, that, it would be unfair to ignore all the vegetarian delicacies, which have been stimulated and popularised by the followers of Bhakti Movement around 16th Century, and time to time quietly been innovated in the kitchens of Bengali widows.
Ranging from chorchoris to bhajas to ghontos to dalnas and presided by Shukto, the vegetarian spread in Bengali Cuisine is not only vast, but also quite innovative and practical. Based on ‘no waste’ philosophy since ages, where every part of vegetable extending from root to flower to stem to even peels are used to create masterpieces, and the innovation of combining aroma and flavours into one dish, one should not be surprised to experience newness with each and every Bengali vegetarian dish, throughout his or her own life.
But, having said that, still one cannot ignore the Bengali’s love for fish, and the feeling of emptiness faced by most of the Bengalis, after having no-fish course for just 2 meals. Now, in this delimma of choosing between heavenly vegetarian dishes and paradisal non-vegetarian platter, the intelligent homo-sapiens must have found a simple and unapologetic solution of combining both the worlds, and thus, spearheading a new kind of revolution in the world of Bengali food.
And along the same line, there is a dish combining the best of both the worlds, is, ‘Lauer Ghonto Diye Macher Matha or Fish Head in Bottle Gourd’, where chopped bottle gourd pieces are cooked to tenderness and mixed with fried fish head pieces. The uncommon combination of fried fish and lightly sweetened and lightly spiced bottle gourd, with the additional tempering of Bengali panch phoron with red chilli and bay leaf, will provide an explosion of flavour and taste in just one bite. The dish is flavourful, yet simple and light in tummy. Which means one or two extra serving won’t cause any harm.
So, here is your way to get the flavourful and tasteful Lauer Ghonto Diye Macher Matha or Fish Head in Bottle Gourd.
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Recipe: Lauer Ghonto Diye Macher Matha or Fish Head in Bottle Gourd
Preparation Time: 21 minutes (Manual chopping of bottle gourd instead of chopper) Pressure Cooking Time for Bottle gourd: 10 minutes Fish Preparation Time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: 1 hour 15 minutes on low flame Equipment Used: A pressure cooker, 2 pans, a turner, a knife and peeler, a bowl to marinate the fish head Yield: 5-7 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 bottle gourd
- 1 fish head sliced into half (Catla or Rohu)
- 2 cups water
- ½ & quarter teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 & ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 4 tablespoons & ½ teaspoon mustard oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 red chilli broken into halves
- ½ teaspoon Bengali panch phoron
- 1/8 & ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 green chilli slit into half
- 1 inch X quarter inch ginger
Method:
- Take out the fish head an hour/ 2 hours in advance from freezer and keep them aside to thaw by itself
- Remove skin and chop the bottle gourd
- Transfer the chopped bottle gourd to a pressure cooker, add 2 cups of water and pressure cook the bottle gourd only till pressure is formed
- Marinate the fish head pieces after massaging the fish head pieces with ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon red chilli powder and ½ teaspoon mustard oil
- Heat a pan and heat 1 tablespoon mustard oil
- Add the fish head pieces once the oil is hot, and time to time keep on flipping the pieces for even frying
- Once the pressure is released completely from pressure cooker, heat another pan and add another 3 tablespoons mustard oil into the pan
- Temper the oil with bay leaf, red chilli and Bengali panch phoron, once the oil is hot
- Add the pressure-cooked bottle gourd pieces into the pan, followed by quarter teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon sugar
- Cover the pan and let the bottle gourd cook on low flame after mixing the ingredients properly with a turner
- In the meantime, once the fish head pieces are properly cooked, break them into small pieces and switch off the flame
- Check the other pan. Transfer the fried fish head pieces to the other pan, if the bottle gourd pieces are almost cooked and the liquid is almost evaporated
- Mix them, followed by adding 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon sugar and slit green chilli
- Grate ginger and add them to the bottle gourd
Chop the bottle gourd.
Pressure cook the bottle gourd only till pressure is formed.
Marinate the fish head pieces after massaging the fish head pieces with turmeric powder, salt, red chilli powder and mustard oil.
Heat 1 tablespoon mustard oil
Add the fish head pieces once the oil is hot.
Heat another pan and add another 3 tablespoons mustard oil into the pan.
Temper the oil with bay leaf, red chilli and Bengali panch phoron, once the oil is hot.
Add the pressure-cooked bottle gourd pieces into the pan.
Followed by turmeric powder, salt and sugar.
Mix the ingredients properly and cover the pan and let the bottle gourd cook.
Break the fish head into small pieces once they are properly cooked.
Transfer the fried fish head pieces to the other pan.
Add salt, sugar and slit green chilli and mix them.
Grate ginger and add them to the bottle gourd.
Tips:
- While pressure cooking bottle gourd, don’t wait till pressure cooker whistles. Switch off the flame as soon as you get the sound of pressure being formed. Cooking beyond that might lead to overcooked and almost dissolved bottle gourd pieces
- There will be left over masala in the bowl used for marinating fish head pieces. Use them up while cooking bottle gourd
- After transferring the fried fish head pieces to the other pan, wipe the extra oil from the pan with the help of some bottle gourd pieces
- Use a deep fry strainer to shift the pressure-cooked bottle gourd pieces from pressure cooker to the pan, so that the extra water gets strained automatically
- Add more green chilli if you want to make the dish more spicy
- Adjust salt and sugar as per your taste by adding little at a time
- Some people add jeera powder to the dish. You may add jeera powder after transferring pressure cooked bottle gourd to the pan
