Skip to main content

Kani Macha Besara











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.

Popular posts from this blog

Kanji as one bowl meals

  One bowl meal with saga kanji कटोरा भर भोजन सागो कान्जी के साथ  Kanji! A traditional Odia dish, especially popular during the summer months. Here's a simple recipe to make Kanji, a flavorful and healthy fermented rice with it's sour water torani.   Ingredients: 2 cups pakhal rice (fermented rice) 3 cups torani 1 bunch Amarnath saag ¼ tsp Hing 1/2 tsp mustard seeds 1/2 tsp cumin seeds 1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds  1/2 tsp fennel seeds  20 crushed Garlic pods  2 dry red chili  Salt, to taste For garnish... Chopped onions  Chopped green chillies  And some seasonings  Preparations:   In a large bowl, pour some sour torani with rice. Mash the rice with your hand. The mixture should be watery, but not too thin or too thick.   Add salt and keep it on medium flame when it comes to boiling point and chopped saag; stir well; now keep the flame on high; once the saag coagulates with it, keep the flame on low. Switch off when all done. Y...
Read more

Spicy Baby potatoes

  Ingredients....... Baby potatoes -1 kg Coriander leaves for garnish  Spice Mix ingredients ..... Urad dal - 2 tbsp Chana dal - 2 tbsp Coriander Seeds - 1 tsp Fennel Seeds - 1 tbsp Cumin seeds -1 tsp Dry Red Chillies - 6 Methi dana - 1 tsp Black Peppercorn -1 tbsp Dalchini 1" stick -1 Dry roast all the above ingredients till fragrant. Once cooled down, grind coarsely, and now add a few more ingredients to this masala..... Aam chur powder -1 tbsp  Chilli flakes 1 tbsp Fried Coconut flakes 2 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder 1 tbsp Green chilli powder 1 tsp Dry roasted fresh curry leaves 2 tbsp Dry roasted and coarsely grounded methi dana  1 tbsp Salt and black salt as per masala required.  Mix well with grounded spices and keep in a air tight container.  Preparations..... Peel and wash all potatoes, fry potatoes along with a pinch of salt, and cook until the skin turns brown and crispy. Once well fried, remove to a dry plate along with oil. Keep aside. Heat 1 tsp...
Read more

Fula kobi kukuli macha rai

  Ingredients.... . Cauliflower florets  . Kokali fish ( anchovy) Turmeric powder  .Salt - to taste Garlic cloves - 6 .Green chilies - 2 pierced  .Mustard seeds - 2 tbsp Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp .Saunf - 1 tbsp .Water - 2 cups Mustard oil - 5 tbs Onion -1 sliced .Nigella seeds - 1 tsp. Or panch foran .Tomato - 1 into squares  . Mustard oil  Salt to taste  Preparations...... Marinate the fish with little turmeric powder and salt. Keep aside. Marinate the florets with salt and turmeric powder. Keep aside. Blend onion, garlic, cumin  and saunf seeds, mustard seeds, salt and half cup of water to a smooth paste. Keep aside. Fry anchovies and cauliflower florets separately. Keep aside. Heat mustard oil in a kadhai, add sliced onion fry until light brown, make a gap between and add nigella seeds when start to pop-up add mustard paste, turmeric powder and tomatoes and half cup of water. Cook until the excess water is evaporated and oil is released. This would...
Read more