The Secret Of ‘Maachh-er Tok’: A Light, Sweet & Sour Bengali Summer Fish Stew

According to the ‘Surya-Siddhanta’, the traditional Bengali solar calendar, the months of ‘Phalgun’ and ‘Choitro’ — mid-February to mid-March and mid-March to mid-April respectively — are considered ‘Bosonto’, or the season of spring. By the end of March, however, one can already feel the hot and humid grasp of the Bengal summer — a several months-long season of waiting and yearning for the cool, soothing touch of ‘Borsha’, or monsoon. Summer in Bengal is an oppressively hot season. As the sun scorches the earth and covers the sky in a haze of humidity, Bengalis move away from the richer, spicier curries and gravies like Katla Maachh-er Qaliya and Kochi Patha-r Kosha, which are more suitable for winters and springs, and turn to the ‘Ambol’ — a thin, sweet-sour soup or stew made with slices of sour fruits like raw mango, hog plum, and elephant apple; or the dried and rehydrated pulp of ripe tamarind.

While an ‘Ambol’ can be any vegetarian or non-vegetarian dish made with the above-mentioned sour ingredients, the most popular variation of this dish is the ‘Maachh-er Tok’ — a Bengali warm-weather favourite that combines Bengal’s love for fish with the sweet-sourness of unripe seasonal fruits. ‘Maachh-er Tok’ is usually served near the end of a traditional multi-course Bengali meal, after or instead of the main fish course, and before ‘mishti’, or sweets. Growing up in the suburbs of Kolkata — with a mother who has a cult-like following in Kolkata’s art scene as quite the cook, and a father who grew up on a steady diet of fresh and dried fish along the Bay of Bengal — ‘Maachh-er Tok’ was a summer-time staple in our house. This is how my mother makes ‘Maachh-er Tok’, or sweet-sour fish stew, at home:

Ingredients:

1. 250 gram freshwater fish like Ilish (Hilsa), Roop Chand (Chinese pomfret), or Tilapia

2. 100 gram seasonal sour fruit like raw mangoes or elephant apple; cleaned and cut into thin, bite-sized slices.

3. 1-1.5 tablespoon sugar (according to taste)

4. 1 tablespoon black mustard seeds

5. 1 tablespoon paanch-phoron or Bengali five spices

6. 2-4 pieces dried red chillies (according to taste)

7. 2-4 pieces fresh green chillies (according to taste)

8. ½-1 tablespoon red chilli powder (according to taste)

9. 1 teaspoon turmeric powder

10. Mustard oil as required for frying the fish

11. Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Properly clean and cut the fish. Then season the fish with half the salt, red chilli powder, and turmeric powder.

2. While the fish marinates, heat a kadhai or wok until very hot. Then pour the mustard oil and let it temper until the oil comes up to the smoking point, then reduce the flame.

3. Fry the marinated fish until light brown. Then reserve the fish.

4. In a separate pot or pressure cooker, boil the sour fruit in salted water. Reserve the water.

5. In the same wok, use the remaining oil to temper the dried red chillies, black mustard seeds, and paanch-phoron. Do not let the spices burn.

6. Add the boiled sour fruits. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.

7. Add the remaining turmeric and red chilli powder and stir well to mix. Cover and cook for 3 minutes or until the smell of the raw turmeric goes away.

8. Add the reserved boiling water and the fish. Add salt and sugar to taste.

9. Add the fried fish and simmer for 3-5 minutes.

10. Serve warm or chilled with plain rice.

Although traditionally consumed as part of a larger meal, ‘Maachh-er Tok aar Bhaat’, or sour fish stew and rice, is a light, filling, and cooling warm-weather meal on its own.

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