Rui Macher Muro Diye Cholar Dal - Chana Dal with Rohu Fish Head

Giving names to the newest member of your family could be quite a daunting task especially if he or she is the first born to carry the baton of your family name. Just a fortnight back, my sister in law has given birth to a beautiful bonny boy in Hyderabad. Now there is a huge hullaballoo going on in choosing an appropriate name for him, everyone from the family pitching in names of their choice. I myself have shortlisted some and sent to my brother in law for consideration. Usually, everyone in my husband's side of family has their name starting with 'deb', which sounds wonderful when addressed in series. I would be very happy if my brother in law ultimately settles on a name beginning with 'deb' in continuation of the old trend. Let’s see if he likes the names I shortlisted for the tiny bundle of joy of our family or not :)

 

 

Last time I made Cabbage Curry with the rohu head, so this time I wanted to make something different. I never concocted Chana dal with rohu head until I got the recipe of Sadhana Mukherjee in hand. Though Bhaja Moong Dal with rohu head is quite a common fare in Bengali households, Chana dal with rohu head is an extraordinary combination. Flavorsome, this dal goes very well with steamed rice and Begun Bhaja.

For more recipes of dal, please click the links below:

Vegetable Dal - Sabji Dal

Masoor Chingrir Dum

Dal Palak - Spinach Dal

Cholar Dal without onion

Red Lentil with Tamarind  

 

 

Ingredients:                                                  Cooking time: 40 minutes ü  1 big rohu fish head (broken into few pieces) ü  350 gm chana dal or cholar dal (soaked in water overnight) ü  1 medium size onion (ground into paste) ü  5-6 green chillies (ground into paste) ü  2 tsp ginger-garlic paste ü  1 heaped tsp cumin powder ü  1 heaped tsp coriander powder ü  1 tsp turmeric powder, plus extra for coating the fish head ü  1 tsp dry red chilli powder ü  Salt to taste ü  2 1/2 tsp sugar (you may adjust the amount according to your liking) ü  1 tsp garam masala powder ü  Mustard oil for cooking ü  Ghee For sauté: ü  1/2 tsp cumin seeds ü  2 bay leaves Method: 1) Cook the chana dal or cholar dal covered in 2-3 cups of water in pressure cooker until one whistle. (Lentil would be soft yet the grains would remain separate.) 2) Coat the fish head in a pinch of turmeric powder, salt and 1 tsp of mustard oil. Fry them in hot oil on medium low heat. Keep aside. 3) Into the same oil that has been used for frying the fish head, add the ingredients for sauté and allow crackling. 4) Add onion paste, green chilli paste and ginger-garlic paste. Shallow fry till onion turns a shade darker. Add cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and dry red chilli powder. Sauté the spice mixture for couple of minutes. 5) Pour cooked lentil into the wok; add the fried fish head pieces, salt and sugar. Cook covered for 2 minutes. (You may add a bit of water if needed.) 6) Sprinkle garam masala into the lentil and again cook covered for 1 minute. Finally stir in ghee and turn the heat off. 7) Serve hot with steamed rice.