There is no better and wonderful day where you eat your favourite fish curry and take a nap for long time on Summer Afternoon.
The strongest flavour of mustard, soury and tangy taste of Ambula makes the dish terrific and different from regular curries.
Besara Odisha's staple food which prepared with fishes, vegetables ,few selective lentils, mushrooms and Vadi.
This is based on mustard paste gravy with use of Ambula ( salted sun dried raw mangoes) for enhanced the taste of sourness, tangyness to the curry.
But sometimes we combine both fish and vegetables for a unique taste and for a better changes to regular foods.
Very popular is with Rohu fish and Katla fish Besara.
Today I am making this recipe with King fish however, you may choose varieties of fish even you may also use shrimps, anchovies,kerandi (little bitter in taste).
Need little careful for delicate small fish.
Ingredients:
1 kg king fish
10 lady's finger
4 Ambula(Salted dried mangoes)
1 tsp termeric powder
1 Cup mustard oil
salt to taste
For paste
4 tbsp mustard seeds
2 dried red chilies
6 Garlic cloves
2 tbsp cumin seeds
1 Onion ( optional)
1 tbsp Fennel seeds
For tempering:
1 tsp Panch Phutana
1 Onion sliced
1 tbsp Chopped green Chillys
Fish marination:
½ tsp Salt
1 tsp Termeric powder
1 tsp Lime juice
Preparations:
Clean ,wash and cut fish according to your choice. Marinated with salt, termeric powder and lime juice and Cover the fish bowl with aluminum foil and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.
Remove when you start cooking Besara ,or exactly before 15 minutes.
Wash properly the salted dried raw mangoes . Soak with 1 cup of water and keep aside.
Make a fine paste of all above (for paste) ingredients and keep a side.
Take 4 to 5
Heat kadhai along with 1 tbsp oil,add pinch of salt ,add lady's finger fry till half done
Remove in a dry plate and keep aside for next use.
Heat a pan along with oil. Place three fish at a time and fry it.
Fry all fish with little tender . Out side crispy and inside little tender. (This type of frying fishes give more taste to Besara.
Crispyness protect to be broken ,tenderness of fish will cook in gravy and leave the essence).
(You may also cook raw fish but with extra care. Though king fish itself little harder than other fish so you can cook easily).
Fried fish keep aside for next use.
After fryng fish use the same oil for gravy now this oil is full of fish essence.
Add Hing,Panch Phutana fry till crackles add onion fry till brown,add Mustard paste along with 1½ cup of water, termeric powder, salt cook on low flame till oil separates.
Dunk one by one fish pieces in the gravy. After adding fish do not stir the gravy.
Just lift the kadhai and swirl 2 to 3 times that all fish pieces are immersed in the gravy.
Increase flame give a nice boil with fish then cover the lid and continue cooking for few minutes .
Remove the lid add fried lady's finger and soaked Ambula and it's water to it cook till reaches desired consistency.
It's ready now serve with plain rice.