Dahi Macha(Yoghurt Fish) from diaries of Oriya cusine

A lip smacking curry from my humble state and is one of the classic curries we Oriyas are proud to showcase.. Dahi macha has class of its own. Seafood lovers ,we the people of Orissa with a long coastline cannot exclude this relishing mustard curry from our diet.

I have been going through this authentic craving since last few days. Finally gave a call to my dear mom.The mentioning of ingredients made me salivating,Fish simmering in mustard gravy enriched with yogurt was to hard to resist. The ingredients are limited and flavor of mustard is echoed in this recipe. Yogurt blended in this gravy renders a creamy velvety texture.

A journey to Orissa is never complete without slurping the macha jholo( Gravy) and gulping the warm rasgullas from Pahala, the place that is famous for making fresh rasagulla’s before the roost of the cock. .

Source-wikipedia

As I started to cook along, the fragrance wafting from the simmering gravy of mustard with turmeric awoke my hunger and made me feel very nostalgic. Vivid memories of my last visit flashed through my mind and made me browse the lovely pictures captured on celluloid. Lucky enough to be nestled in a place surrounded by beautiful craved temples dating around 11th centuries. Here are couple of pictures of the temples that are visble from our terrace in Bhubaneswar.

Ingredients for recipes
Serves -2
2 pieces of Fish approx 400 gms
½ cup yogurt
2 ½ tbslp black mustard seeds
1tsp posto ( poppy seeds)
1 potato cut into medium chunks
2to3 green chillies or more
2to3 garlic cloves
1 small onion chopped
1 small tomato chopped
2tsp turmeric powder
1tsp panch putona
salt to taste

Method.
Wash and dry the fish. Apply salt and 1 tsp of turmeric powder, heat oil in a pan fry it 5 mins . Don’t over cook it..

Dry grind mustard and posto and then add garlic, chilies and little water to make a paste.

Heat oil in shallow pan. add panch puton , when they start to crack , add onions . Fry them till they are translucent. Add potatoes and fry them. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes , sauté for couple of mins and then add mustard paste, turmeric powder and salt to taste.. Stir on a medium fire for two mins. Add yogurt, fish and ¾ cup of water to the paste. Cover and simmer for 10 to 12 mins till the gravy is thick and potatoes done.

Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with rice





PS – I used sea bass but if u prefer the smell of the ocean dweller use Rahu, catla or Hilsa. The gravy will have awesome taste.