Fish-Puri

Boil I seer of the pieces of a big fish with salt and turmeric, and remove the bones. Add ginger, turmeric, cumin, pepper, coriander, garam-masalla, salt and a pinch of sugar, all powdered, beat thoroughly and brown a little with ghee.

Mix 1/2 powa of ghee with 2 seers of flour, then add water and knead it to a moderately soft lump. Form -small balls of it, flatten them a little and stuff with a little of the spiced fish. Press these stuffed balls into thick round discs and fry in plenty of ghee. Serve while hot.

Fish With Cream Of Milk

Smear butter on both sides of a big piece of paper and wrap the middle portion of a big fish, after washing-it, with the paper and fix it with pins. Boil it for about an hour on mild heat in a covered pan with I or 1 1/2 powa of water mixed with 1/2 chhatak of butter. Take care that the paper does not get scorched.

Drop a pinch of soda in a cup containing 1/2 powa or more of cream of milk and heat it on boiling water. Add to it a pinch of flour, salt, a little butter and powdered pepper. Then take off the paper and pour this cream of milk on the fish. Milk mixed with egg may be substituted for cream of milk.

Chhanchra

It is a common and excellent item in the menu of a Bengali, dish. It is taken with rice. As in the above: curry the waste portions of big fishes are generally used in this curry. The better portions may also be used. They are fried in the same way.

All kinds of saks and varieties of vegetables, e.g. potato, patol, brinjal, bean, radish, gourd, cauliflower, squash, jhinga, chichinga, bori, etc., are used. Prepare 1 or 2 kinds of saks. Cut some other unpeeled vegetables in pieces, wash and mix with powdered turmeric. After some time brown them in oil, add sak and fish, and stir. A little later add water, powdered mustard, chillies, coriander, pepper, cumin and salt Take down when no soup is left. Ghee and powdered garam-masalla may be added if desired.

Chach-Chari

Prepare fishes and fry them entire if small or cut in suitable pieces. Then brown some pieces of potatoes, patois, brinjals, tender legumes of barabati or cauliflowers or any combination of them with salt. Add fish, powdered turmeric, pepper, cumin, mustard and sliced green chillies. Stir a little and add water. Last of all season the curry with oil with cassia leaves, chillies and minced onions fried in it. Leave a little thick soup if desired.

Fish Jhal

Slightly brown pieces of any kind of fish and add water covering them, with powdered chillies, cumin, pepper, coriander and turmeric. Add a little more salt and fried pieces of onions if desired. The soup must be thick and scanty. Jhal of small fishes is also very tasteful. They are to be kept entire but their entrails must be removed, otherwise the curry will taste bitter.

Shoal Fish With Pumpkin

Throw away the heads of the shoal fishes as they are not edible. Prepare the flesh portions and fry with oil.

Peel a tender pumpkin and chop it in pieces Heat oil, fry cassia leaves, chillies and a pinch of entire cumins in it, add the chopped pumpkin and stir. A few minutes-later add salt, powdered chillies, coriander, cumin, pepper and water. On boiling add fish. Add a little ghee when the soup is scanty and take down after stirring a litte.

Rasa

Peel some potatoes and cut them in big pieces. Smear with turmeric and salt, and brown in oil.

All kinds of fishes may be used. Prepare them and fry in sufficient oil. Add turmeric, coriander and a good-number of chillies, all pasted, and water. On boiling add salt and the potatoes. Fried bori may be added if desired. Take down when the soup is quite thick. The characteristic of this curry is its pungency.

Fish Preserved

Wash the pieces of fish, wipe them with a clean piece of linen, smear with powdered (not pasted) turmeric and salt, fry in molten butter and remove the bones as far as possible. Mix molten butter, salt, powdered garam-masalla and pepper to a paste and mix it with the pieces of fish. They can be preserved long, ready for eating, if kept air tight in a dry and cool cellar.