Cuisine: West Bengal state of India
Ingredients:
Fish slices – 600 gm
Salt – as required
Turmeric powder – 1 ½ teaspoons
Oil – 5 tablespoons
Dried red chili – 4
Bay leaf – 2
Cardamom - 4
Clove - 4
Cinnamon – 4 inch piece
Cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon
Onion – 100gm (thinly sliced) + 150gm (to grind)
Green chilli – 6
Ginger – 2 inch
Tomato – 2
Chilli powder (spicy) – 2 teaspoons
Kashmiri chili powder – 3 teaspoons
Cumin powder – 2 teaspoons
Raisins – 2 tablespoons
Jaggery – 3 teaspoons
Hot water – 500gm
Bengali garam masala – ½ teaspoon
Method:
Wash and thoroughly dry the fish. There should not be any excess moisture on the surface of the fish. Sprinkle a little salt and 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder. Slice 100 grams of cleaned onions along the length. These will be used to make fried onion. Roughly cube 150 grams of cleaned onion and put it in the jar of a grinder. Peel fresh ginger, chop roughly, and add it to the same jar. Grind the onion and ginger until smooth. Don't add any extra water during grinding. Cube the tomatoes into small chunks. Slit green chilies along the length. Heat a kadai or a wok until very hot. Pour oil and wait for it to start smoking. Once it smokes, lower the heat and wait for the smoke to subside and the oil to cool down a little. Next, add the sliced onions and fry patiently until barely light brown. Then remove from oil and set aside set aside. Remember, the onion will keep darkening due to residual heat even after you take it out of the oil. If it darkens too much it will turn bitter. In the same oil fry the marinated fish in small batches. For a kalia, the fish should be nicely browned outside. Set the fried fish aside. We will cook the Kalia in the same oil so that the sauce has the flavor of the fish. Lower the heat. Add dried red chilies, bay leaves, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon, and finally cumin seeds. Add the onion and ginger paste. Braise this until it darkens in color and the moisture dries up. Add cumin powder, remaining turmeric powder, chili powder, and Kashmiri chili powder, stir, and sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of hot water to prevent them from sticking to the pan and burning. Braise until the raw smell of the spices goes away. Add some salt and the jaggery. Add the diced tomatoes and cook covered until softened. At any stage during the cooking add splashes of hot water to prevent the spices from burning. Add the raisins and stir. Once everything is well cooked, add 500 grams of boiling hot water. When the sauce comes up to the boil, gently introduce the fried fish into the sauce. Also, add the slit green chilies and the fried onions. Simmer the kalia until the consistency is like a sauce. A kalia should not be too thick. Plus, keep in mind that the fish will soak up a lot of the sauce and the gravy will thicken by the time you serve it. Turn off the stove, sprinkle Bengali garam masala, and cover with a tight lid. Let this rest for at least half an hour before serving with plain rice.
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