12/01/2019

Title: Ma-ch. Mach. Mach D-oh-pya-ju. Mach dopyaju. Fish with onions. Twice cooked fish with onion.

She is halfway done with the fish dish preparation and hasn’t said a word to me about what went in and how and why. “I’ll tell you, don’t worry.”

6 fish steaks, cut in half, ½ a large fish, “Mirigal” Mach (Carp?)

1 tsp Cumin
½ tsp Turmeric
½ tsp Cayenne
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Ginger/garlic paste

2 large red onions, sliced thin
2 medium tomatoes, sliced into thin wedges

Marinate the fish steaks in the cumin, turmeric, salt, and ginger/garlic paste mixture for 5-30 minutes (30 minutes is ideal). They should not be sopping wet but rather damp from the mixture. Fish marinates quickly. Heat a pan large enough to hold all the steaks to medium-high heat. Saute the steaks in a tablespoon of any neutral vegetable oil (canola is fine) for a few minutes on each side until they are cooked through.

We just learned that the guests arriving in three hours are not, in fact, Bangladeshi. They’re Hyderabadi. Amu and Abu are in a very mild argument over this fact. She thought they were Bangali and that they would eat fish. He assures her they will.

Your kitchen should be overwhelmed with scents already, since you were practically dry frying fish with spices. I am coughing. Set the fish steaks aside. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan, and all of the chopped onion. Add salt to taste – about a teaspoon. Saute a few minutes until the edges are lightly brown. Cover if they’re cooking too fast, uncover again to stir – so on and so forth. Once the edges are lightly browned, add the tomatoes. Saute for a couple more minutes to heat the tomatoes.

½ tsp Cayenne
½ tsp Turmeric

Add another ½ tsp cayenne and ½ tsp turmeric. Saute another couple minutes to bloom the flavors of the newly added spices. Add about ½ cup water. She said I didn’t have to add this part, but she added a couple of teaspoons of sugar – this may not be necessary if your onions have enough time to caramelize. She is rushing and wanting to please guests who may not enjoy fish. Add the fish back in, gently so the pieces don’t break. Cover the dish, turn the heat down to medium, and let cook for about five minutes.

1 large wedge lime
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Your dish is bubbling away. After it’s cooked for about the five minutes above, squeeze in the lime, sprinkle the chopped cilantro over top and cover again to let it continue cooking. You want some reduction of the water. Taste and adjust salt as needed. Two more minutes and you’re done.