Moong Dal Macher Matha Diye
Dal is every child’s nightmare. Whenever I serve dal to my children, they wrinkle their noses, make frowny faces, and detest it vehemently. But these protein powerhouses are also essential for a balanced diet, so I try my best to make dal dishes more exciting. Recently, I stumbled upon this Bengali recipe called Macher Matha Diye. What makes this dish stand out is that it makes use of the fish’s head (matha) rather than using it as a whole. And this juicy seasoned fish tastes magical when dunked in yellow moong dal. Usually Rohu or Katla fish is used to prepare the dish. The fish head is marinated with a spice mixture followed by deep-frying in a pan. The crispy fish should be cooked till it browns. I have used roasted moong dal in this recipe, as it gives a nice flavour. It tends to soak up a lot of water, so make sure that you boil it with sufficient amount of water. To ace this dish, a perfect balance should be maintained between the sweet and savoury flavours. This can be achieved by adding assorted spices, all of which can be added according to taste. The fish is cooked in dal on medium heat for a few minutes. The final touches are added in the form of a cumin seed (jeera) tempering. This Moong Dal with a twist is a refreshing change from the regular and tastes delicious with boiled rice. Macher Matha Diye is a sure-fire hit with the kids.
You may also like our other Dal recipes Amritsari Dal, Dal Fry (Punjabi Style), Dal Makhani, Cholar Dal.
How to make Moong Dal Macher Matha Diye
Ingredients |
|
| Split and husked green gram (moong dal) | 1 cup |
| Fish head (macher Mur) | 300 g |
| Onion (payaz), chopped | ½ tea spoon |
| Ginger (adrakh) chopped, | 1table spoon |
| Bay Leaf (tej patta) | 2 |
| Cinnamon (dalchini), crushed | 1 inch |
| Cumin (jeera) seeds | ½ tea spoon |
| Dry Red Chilly (sabut lal mirch) | 2 |
| Cumin Powder (jeera) | ½tea spoon |
| Red chilli (lal mirch) powder | ½ tea spoon |
| Green Chillies (hari mirch), slit | 3-4 |
| Salt (namak) | To taste |
| Sugar (chini) | ½ tea spoon |
| Turmeric (haldi) powder | ½ tea spoon |
| Oil | As needed for frying fish |
| Vegetable oil (For cooking) | 1 tea spoon |
| Clarified butter (ghee) | 1 table spoon |
Method
- 1. Roast moong dal on slow fire for 5-7 minutes till colour starts to change and a nice fragrance comes out.
- 2. Cut fish head into pieces. Rub salt, red chilli and 1/4 tea spoon turmeric.
- 3. Boil dal in 3 cups water along with salt and 1/4 tsp turmeric till done.
- 4. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a pan and deep fry the fish head till brown. Keep aside.
- 5. In a separate pan heat 2 table spoon of oil. Then add bay leaf, dry red chilli, cinnamon and fry for 30 seconds.
- 6. Add onions and fry for 2-3 minutes till soft.
- 7. Then add ginger, green chillies and cumin powder. Fry for 2 minutes on medium heat.
- 8. Add boiled dal and cook this for 5 minutes.
- 9. Now add fish head to dal and boil for 8-10 minutes on medium heat.
- 10. Add sugar and adjust salt to taste. Remove it from heat.
- 11. Heat clarified butter in a separate pan. Add the cumin seeds and crackle it.
- 12. Now put this in dal and serve this with boiled rice.
- Recipe Type : Bengal, Curries, Fish, Non vegetarian, Non Vegetarian, Regional
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