ESPECIAL DE DURGA PUJA (DURGA PUJA SPECIAL) : PANCHAMI

MACHER DHOKAR DANLA (FISH DHOKA CURRY)

Today is Panchami, this time around we are experiencing a gloomy weather during Durga Puja with intermittent rains. As per the Weather Department we may be hit by a cyclone :( Durga Puja being the biggest and grandest festival of the Bengalis the weather could not dampen the Puja spirit of people of Kolkata. So we witnessed a huge turnout of people at various puja pandals.

Dhoka is a very traditional Bengali dish and it is usually made with Chana Dal but this time around I tried to make something different. Macher Dhoka is not a completely new concept since I have heard about this recipe from friends, family etc you may also stumble across this recipe in various Bengali cookbooks, but this was the very first time that Macher Dhoka was made in my house :) A new dish for Maha Panchami :)

INGREDIENTS: (For Dhoka)

• 1 Small Cup Matar dal (Yellow split peas)
• 4-5 Medium Pieces of Bekti or rohu (rui)
• 1 1/2 Tsp Ginger garlic paste
• 1 1/2 Tsp Onion paste
• 2 Tsp Coriander leaves chopped
• 11/2 Tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli powder
• 1+ 1/4 Tsp Tumeric powder
• 2 Tbsp Mustard Oil 
• Mustard Oil as required for deep frying
• Salt to taste

PROCEDURE:

• Soak the matar dal for at least 1-2 hours before grinding it to a fine paste. If possible you can soak the dal overnight for a smoother paste.
• Boil the fish pieces with a little bit of tumeric and salt,then de-bone them and shred them to small pieces. Be careful not to overcook the fish. Now mix this with the dal paste.

• Now in a pan heat oil and add the ginger garlic paste. When the paste turns golden brown add the onion paste.
• Then add the fish and dal mixture and stir well. Now add the red chilli powder, tumeric powder and salt. Stir well till the mix is cooked.
• Then take a plate and apply a little oil on it and pour the cooked mixture on to the plate. Spread it out evenly and let it cool.

• Once it cools down cut it into small pieces. From this mix I got around 24 pieces. Now deep fry them and the macher dhoka is ready.

INGREDIENTS:(For The Curry)

• 1 1/2 Tbsp Onion paste
• 1 1/2 Tsp Garlic paste
• 3 Tbsp Tomato paste
• 2 Medium Potatoes boiled and cut into small pieces
• 1 Tsp Garam Masala powder
• 1/2 Tsp Tumeric powder
• 2 Tsp Kashmiri Red Chili powder
• Salt to taste
• Water as Required

PROCEDURE:

Heat oil in a pan and add the garlic paste. Once it turns golden in colour add the onion paste and the garam masala powder. (I always use freshly made garam masala powder)

• Then add the tomato and cook well till oil separates from the masala.

• Now add the potatoes and stir well so that all the potatoes are coated with the masala.

• Then add water, I added around 3 cups because once you put the dhokas in the curry it will absorb the curry. I added this amount of water also because I had around 20 dhokas for the curry.
• Let the curry simmer for about 5 mins and then add the dhokas. Garnish with coriander leaves :)

I hope you try this recipe out and give me feedback.

Happy Puja :)