Mirgal fish with Lai fata (Mustard greens)

A fish dish is what is on the blog today. Guaranteed to wow guests, (or your parents), do give this recipe a try.

A lot of Bangladeshi people grow lai fata (or mustard greens I think most people know them as in English – she says), but not me. Oh no, I’m not green fingered, so I rely on people to feel sorry for me and give me stuff from their garden, for free!

My husband’s friends send me lai fata, and because I don’t use it immediately, lai fata is one of those things that you can wash, remove the leaves from the stalks, then separate into bags and freeze for later use. I just happened upon one such forgotten bag in my freezer, and decided to cook it before it got that freezer smell. I also had 5 pieces of a ginormous Mirgal fish my husband bought, so I used these pieces for this curry.

I used:

5 pieces Mirgal fish, cut into 4 pieces each (Salt the fish pieces, and add a little turmeric before washing. This should take away any fishy/freezer smell)

4 tbsp. oil
8 cloves of garlic, minced
2 medium onions, finely sliced
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander stalks
1 medium tomato, blended
1 and 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
2 tsp. chilli powder
2 tsp. madras hot curry powder
2 tsp. coriander powder
Undetermined amount of lai fata (mustard greens)
Coriander for garnishing

Wash your fish pieces and put in a colander to drain off the water.

In a saucepan, add your oil and minced garlic and allow to brown. Once browned, add your onions, salt and coriander and cover. Allow to soften for about 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, check your onions. They should be almost broken down. Add your blended tomato, and cook for about 5 minutes until the oil starts separating at the sides. Add water at any point you feel like the curry needs it.

Add your powdered spices, and mix well. Cook for another 5 minutes, then add your fish. Mix well at this stage, because as soon as the fish cooks, you will have to be gentle with the curry. Add your lai fata at this stage too, cover and allow to steam for a few minutes.

Remove the lid after 3 minutes or so, and just gently move the pan. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, adding a little water if required. After about 10 minutes, add water to the amount of jhol/shira you want, move the pan to mix all the ingredients together, cover and on a medium heat, cook for 5 – 10 minutes, until the curry is cooked. Once the curry is done, turn off heat, and garnish with coriander. And voila, your fish curry is cooked! Serve whilst hot with hot rice. And watch out for those bones!

Hope you enjoy!

Yaz ♥