Maach-Bhaat (Fish and Rice) is every Bengali's comfort food. A Bengali's love for fish is endless. There is a popular saying too "Mache Bhate Bangali" i.e. Fish and Rice makes a Bengali. We eat so many different fishes starting from fresh water ones like Rohu, Katla, Pabda to salt water fishes like Hilsa, Pomfret etc. But to be very frank I like only specific fishes maybe because I grew up mainly in Central India where we would get only 2-3 varieties. Whatever the reason is, the varieties I eat I just love them.
Here in Portland, Oregon we get Rohu, Hilsa, Pabda, Tangra etc in a Middle-Eastern shop but all in frozen form. Thanks to an Asian store out here where we get fresh fishes like Shrimp (Prawn), Pomfret, Bhetki and Tilapia (lately I started eating that).
The recipe which I am going to share today is generally prepared with Hilsa or Ilish but I have seen my Mom to make it with Rohu too but with a slight twist. She adds cumin seeds along with the mustard seeds which not only reduces the pungency of mustard seeds but also gives a nice flavor to the dish. I like to make it the way she does. So, let's dig into the recipe:
