Macher Jhal is a staple Bengali fish curry. It is prepared by cooking fish in a spicy gravy , flavored with nigella seeds , green chili, mustard paste and cooked in mustard oil. Pabda is a very delicate fish with extremely flavourful flesh. Hence Pabda Macher Jhal is cooked light with minimal usage of spices.
Kachori (or Kochuri) , is an essential part of Bengali cuisine. It is mostly eaten as a tea time snack in the morning or evening , often accompanied with tasty potato-peas curry and Bengali sweets. There are different variations of Kochuris available , like Koraishutir Kochuri (Peas stuffed) , Hing er Kochuri (Sattu stuffed) , Radhaballavi (lentil stuffed) and many more.
Fish Kachori is one of them and prepared by deep-frying, soft and flaky pooris stuffed with spicy, crumbled fish filling. I’m sharing my version here, the way I make it at home.
Bhapa Ilish means ‘Steamed Hilsa’ , where BHAPA represents ‘STEAMING’.
It is a classic Bengali preparation where fresh Ilish/hilsa is marinated in mustard seed paste , along with turmeric, green chili, salt and a liberal dousing of mustard oil , and then steamed in a stainless steel tiffin box or covered pot.
Bhapa ilish can be prepared in pressure cooker, steamer , or even in a microwave oven.
It is a bengali style fish curry , prepared with mustard and tomatoes. This curry is easy to make with a little twist to regular mustard fish. Fish like rohu, katla, aar, pabda, hilsa etc. can be prepared with this gravy.