Kasundi Shorshay Maach or tangy mustard fish curry with sea bream

Name: Kasundi Shorshay Maach or tangy mustard fish curry with sea bream
Prep time: 30m
Cook time: 40m
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Bengali

Made with fermented mustard paste combined with yoghurt and grated coconut

Anupa Kurian (Senior Digital Planning Editor)

Cuisine:Bengali

Cook time:40m

Prep time:30m

Servings:6

1 kg sea bream fillet (skinless)

¾ tsp turmeric powder

3 tbsp yoghurt

5 tbsp kasundi or fermented wholegrain mustard paste (store bought - you can always substitute with wholegrain Dijon mustard or country Dijon, which is made in a manner similar to Kasundi)

2 to 3 green chillies (optional)

¼ tsp garam masala + ¼ tsp Radhuni or wild celery seeds – ground (if using wholegrain Dijon mustard paste). Another option is to use ¼ tsp garam masala + ¼ tsp Bengali Panch Phoron - ground (a mix of equal measure of fenugreek, wild celery seeds, fennel seeds, Nigella seeds and cumin seeds)

1 bay leaf

3 tbsp freshly grated coconut

4 tbsp cold pressed mustard oil

2 tbsp regular vegetable oil

½ tsp Nigella seeds or kalonji

250 ml of water

1 ½ tsp salt (please increase based on taste)

1 tsp sugar

2 to 3 green chillies, flash fried in hot oil

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Ingredient Substitution Guide

Wash and fillet the seabream or ask your fishmonger to do that for you – it has to be skinless and cut into pieces that are about 2.5 inches in length and breadth. Rinse again and drain.

Add 1/4 tsp turmeric powder + ½ tsp salt into the drained pieces of fishes. Mix well and set aside – be gentle with the fish.

In a blender, combine the coconut, remaining salt, sugar, mustard and yoghurt, along with the green chillies with about 1 cup of water. Make a paste. Set side.

Flash fry the green chillies for garnish first, then the pieces of fish until you see a hint of gold, set aside.

Now, in a deep earthenware pot (you can take any deep cooking vessel), heat the mustard oil until it starts to smoke. Lower the heat level and add the vegetable oil, followed by the Nigella seeds and bay leaf.

Now add the mustard paste with another half cup of water and simmer over a low flame, covered, for about 25 minutes. Don’t increase the flame otherwise the yoghurt will curdle. Stir occasionally.

The sauce will thicken a bit and the mustard will have cooked. Add some more hot water, based on how thick or thin you would like the gravy to be. Ideally, do not add more than half a cup otherwise it will dilute the subtle flavours. Let the sauce bubble and then add the fish pieces.

Cover and cook for a further 7 to 10 minutes. Check the sauce for seasoning. Add salt if needed. Garnish with fried green chillies and serve hot with steamed rice.

Note: Here’s an excellent recipe for homemade Kasundi that I use - https://mishry.com/home-style-traditional-kasundi-recipe

Anupa Kurian Murshed

Writer is the founding editor of the Gulf News Food section.