Rajashree Banerjee’s Tel Koi, Climbing Perch Cooked with an Extra Dash of Mustard Oil

Now that I look back, I see that I had signs to be a food lover pretty early on life. Being a Bengali most probably established that love even more. Food, after all is a dialect in the Bengali language.

I enjoyed absolutely loved each time I accompanied my parents to the fish market. The maacher bajaar was such a vibrant place to be. I’d be this proverbial wide-eyed, bushy-tailed girl each time I’d go there.

My parents would even let me touch the fish displayed there. Except for one. The live and kissing Koi maach.

Koi is like that hard-hearted, emotionless aunt every family has. Tough from the outside, but as you discover it, you see how sweet and tender it is from the inside.

Its a much underrated fish compared to other more easily available fish we Bengalis eat.

I’d watch with utmost awe as the maach wala would carefully pick from the big, round tub the live Koi my parents chose to buy. He would then beat each on the head with a wooden mallet, lightly at first and then one last phhhaaataaak to kill the feisty Koi. The Koi doesn’t give up easily. It’d still move its tail and open its mouth to utter some last words of profanity for us killers.

We don’t get fresh Koi here, and neither is walking up to the freezer section of the Bangladeshi store is as thrilling as a maacher bajaar from childhood. But I am thankful to the Koi Gods (or Goddesses) that I am able to get this fish here in Toronto. I am also thankful to kitchen Goddesses like Rajashree Banerjee who are eager to share their family recipes with complete strangers.

I will admit to making small changes to Rajashree’s recipe. But the framework is hers. The only thing her recipe did not have for the Tel Koi was ginger, which when I Googled for the recipe, found Sandeepa’s and saw she had used ginger in her recipe. Which I did too.

Ingredients for Rajashree Banerjee’s Tel Koi are:

4 good-looking Koi fish, scales removed and cleaned
3 tablespoons cumin seeds
3 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 + 2 teaspoons turmeric powder
4-5 whole green chillies, sliced
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
2-3 bay leaves
Half cup + 2 tablespoons extra virgin mustard oil
Salt

Grind together the cumin seeds and black peppercorns. Start by dry grinding and then add water, little by little. I added a green chilli for extra fire.

Rub salt and turmeric on each Koi. If there is any extra water from washing the fish, make sure you pat dry the fish.

Heat a frying pan till it starts smoking. Now add the half cup oil and let it heat up too. This way, when you fry any fish, you will not damage the skin. Because the pan is smoking hot, the fish will come out clean. Koi is known for its thick, beautiful skin. You don’t want to damage that. Its delicious to eat.

Koi will splutter and burst when put in hot oil, make sure you have a lid on on the pan. I ALWAYS fry Koi this way.

When the oil is really hot, release the fish in it, carefully not to burn your fingers. Cover and fry on high for 2-3 minutes. Turn. Give another 2-3 minutes to the other side. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep.

In the same oil, throw in the bay and couple of green chillies. Give them a few seconds to season the oil.

Now add the wet ground cumin and black pepper. Sauté the spices on medium heat till oil separates from them. Add the grated ginger and turmeric.

Mix everything well. Season with salt. Add about one and half cups of water to the spices. Let it come to a boil.

Release the lightly fried fish into the sauce. Cook each side for about 3-4 minutes without covering the pan. Check seasoning, add salt if necessary. The sauce would have reduced to half its original quantity. Turn the heat off.

Drizzle couple of spoons of raw mustard oil on the fish. That completes the Tel Koi dish, which literally means Koi with an extra dash of mustard oil.

Serve the Tel Koi hot with plain white rice.

Koi Maacher Jhaal

There is an old Bengali saying that the power of endurance of a woman is like a Koi fish’s (Climbing Perch).

May manush’er praan, Koi maacher jaan!

Meaning both the Koi and a woman have great abilities to withstand pain. Try clubbing a live Koi for your meal and you will see how it takes you four or five, even more times to beat it to death! Koi is a pond fish, often found in slushy inlets, quietly hiding from a predator or fisherman. It has a dark appearance, the skin is rather thick. Koi fish is sweet, fleshy and has hook-like bones. I have once suffered the pain a Koi bone can cause to the throat, while eating a delicious curry made with mustard and green chilies, often called a Jhaal in Bangla. 
The Koi we eat should not be confused with the Japanese ornamental brocaded ones by the same name.

So today’s lunch was this Koi Maacher Jhaal, a simple mustardy curry spiked with fresh green chilies.

Ingredients for Koi Maacher Jhaal are:

500 grams Koi fish, washed and cleaned
2 medium size ripe tomatoes, quartered
6-7 green chilies, slit lengthwise
Handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
3 heaped teaspoons of freshly ground yellow mustard
Three-fourth teaspoons red chili powder
2 + 1 teaspoons turmeric powder
Half cup mustard oil
Salt

Heat mustard oil in a wok/thick pan until smoking. Rub two teaspoons turmeric and a spoonful of salt to the fish and shallow fry them, about two minutes on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep.

In the remaining oil, add the tomatoes and green chilies and sauté for a minute or two. In a bowl, mix together the mustard, turmeric, and red chili powder. Add three cups of water and add the mixture to the tomato-green chili in the pan. Season with salt.

Let this cook on medium-high flame for about 7-8 minutes, till the tomatoes and the spices are cooked through. Now gently release the Koi fish, holding them by their tails!

It takes about 4-5 minutes after you release the fish into the mustard curry to complete cooking. Don’t forget to turn the fish in the sauce. Finish with a generous garnish of chopped coriander. The Koi Maacher Jhaal is recommended with steaming hot rice. Enjoy!

Oh and just so you know, I did not have to club a Koi to death, it was available at the Bangladeshi store we get our share of desi fish from.