Macher matha diye dal | How to make Macher matha diye dal - by foodogger

 Macher matha diye dal

Macher matha diye dal (Bengali: maach = fish; maatha = head) is a delicious lentil preparation. Fish head, which has been shallow fried in mustard oil, is added to roasted and boiled moong dal (split green gram) and given a simple tempering of onions, tomatoes, and basic Indian spices like cumin seeds, coriander powder, etc. The concept of eating fishhead felt weird to me when I first heard of it. Then, I felt bad discarding the fish head after preparing any fish dish, so I decided to try out this recipe. And, of course, I fell in love with it. The fish adds a delicious flavor to our everyday dal and makes a simple dal – chawal (lentils and rice) meal extra special. Scroll down for the recipe and do try it out sometime, you will be surprised at what you get!

INGREDIENTS:- To fry the fish Head of 1 fish 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons Mustard oil For the dal 1/4 cup Moong dal 2-3 cups Water 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds 1 Onion finely chopped 1 Tomato finely chopped 3 green chilies slit lengthwise 1 teaspoon Ginger paste 1 teaspoon Garlic paste 1/2 teaspoon Red chili powder 1/4 teaspoon Coriander powder 1/4 teaspoon garam masala powder 1/4 teaspoon hing (asafetida) 2 tablespoons Coriander leaves 1 teaspoon Salt adjust according to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:-

Prepping the fish

1. Marinate the fish head with turmeric powder and salt for 1 hour.
2. Then shallow fry in mustard oil – 2 minutes each side. Keep aside.

For the dal

1. In a pressure cooker, dry roast moong dal for 2-3 minutes till it becomes fragrant.
2. Add 2 cups water, ½ tsp turmeric powder, and ½ tsp salt.
3. Pressure cook – 3 whistles. Keep aside

Final steps in the recipe

1. In the oil used to fry fish, splutter cumin seeds for 30 seconds.
2. Add onions, sauté till they become soft.
3. Add the ginger and garlic paste, sauté till the raw smell goes (2-3 minutes).
4. Add the tomato, green chilies, and cook till tomatoes become soft.
5. Add coriander and red chili powder, cook for 1 minute.
6. Add the boiled dal and the fried fish.
7. Break the fish head roughly using the sharp end of a spatula.
8. Adjust salt.
9. Add hing, garam masala powder, and coriander leaves.
10. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
11. Serve with hot rice.

RECIPE NOTES:-

• You can use any type of fish head. You will get it sliced into two pieces.
• Dry roast the moong dal before boiling - it will give a good flavor and also moong dal will not become slimy.