Mustard fish curry made in the Bengali style is white fish fillets cooked in a wonderfully spicy and flavorful mustard and chilli sauce. It's a quick and easy weekday recipe made with just 5 ingredients!
Want an easy fish curry that -
- won't take a hundred and fifty hours to make?
- doesn't have a mile-long ingredient list?
- scores a perfect ten on taste?
Whatcha waiting for then? Make this sunshine yellow fish curry with mustard and taste the magic of a dish that's a favorite among the Bengalis in India, a community known for their love of good food.
What's in this mustard fish curry
Five ingredients only -
- 1.4 pound or 680 grams white fish fillet - any firm fresh water fish will do.
- 3 tablespoons mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon turmeric, ground
- ⅛ teaspoon nigella seeds - also known as kalonji (optional)
- ¼ cup mustard oil, smoked - substitute with any cooking oil of your choice if you don't want to use it.
- 3-4 small green thai chillies
Cooking with mustard oil
Mustard oil has been used for centuries for frying foods in Asia, specifically India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. And indeed, Bengali fish curry has traditionally always been made in mustard oil. This oil has a distinctive warm and spicy flavor that enhances the taste of anything fried or cooked in it.
But I have to say this: in the US, Canada and EU, mustard oil is not approved by the FDA for cooking and comes with an 'external use only' label. If you are in a country where it comes with this kind of a warning, then please use your discretion.
If you decide to go ahead and use it for this fish curry recipe, you need to smoke it first. This is how you do it -
Heat the oil in a saucepan on medium to high. After a few minutes, you will see that it will start smoking and its color will change to a pale yellow. Switch off the gas and wait for it to cool down to the required temperature. Now, you can go ahead and use it for cooking.
How to make this Bengali fish curry with mustard
Step 1 - make the mustard paste
Soak the mustard seeds in about ½ cup water for 2 or more hours. Grind the seeds along with one green chilli and water in a small blender to get a grainy yellow paste.
Step 2 - marinate the fish
While the mustard seeds are soaking, rub the fish fillets with half a teaspoon turmeric and salt. Keep it in a cool place for half an hour.
Step 3 - pan fry the fish
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a frypan and shallow fry the marinated fish on medium heat until golden brown on both sides. The fillets need not be cooked through, just seared to seal in the juices. Remove onto a platter and keep aside.
Step 4 - make the mustard sauce for fish
In the same frypan in which you fried the fish, add the remaining oil, nigella seeds (if using) and green chillies. After a few seconds add the mustard paste prepared in step 1 along the remaining ½ teaspoon turmeric and ½ cup water. Cook this curry on low heat until it thickens (10-12 minutes).
Step 5 - Add the fish to the curry
Gently slide in the fish fillets into the curry and make sure they are coated with the masala completely. Simmer for 5-6 minutes until the fish has absorbed most of the masala. Serve hot with Indian bread or white, steamed rice.
Top tips for making the perfect mustard fish curry
1. You can use frozen fish fillets for making this recipe, especially if you live in a place where there's no fresh fish available.
2. Be gentle with the fish fillets while frying them. Fish meat is tender and breaks easily, so don't turn around the fish too much.
3. Reduce the quantity of green chillies or use another variety of chilly if you want mild heat in your curry.
4. Adjust the quantity of water according to the gravy you want. Since there is no ginger or garlic, this fish curry has a thin gravy that gets absorbed quickly by the fish. If you want you can add more water to the cooking curry to get extra gravy.
5. Don't put more nigella than the recipe calls for. One-eighth of a teaspoon (a pinch) is enough. If you put in too much, the curry will become slightly bitter. In fact, omit the nigella seeds if you don't have them. Mustard, in itself, is quite pungent and you will not miss nigella if you don't use it.
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Bengali Mustard Fish Curry
Ingredients
- 1.4 pound or 680 grams white fish fillet
- 3 tablespoons mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon turmeric ground
- ⅛ teaspoon nigella seeds - also known as kalonji
- ¼ cup mustard oil smoked or any cooking oil
- 3-4 small green thai chillies
Instructions
- Soak the mustard seeds in about ½ cup water for 2 or more hours. Grind the seeds along with one green chilli and water in a small blender to get a grainy yellow paste.
- While the mustard seeds are soaking, rub the fish fillets with half a teaspoon turmeric and salt. Keep it in a cool place for half an hour.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a frypan and shallow fry the marinated fish on medium heat until golden brown on both sides. The fillets need not be cooked through, just seared to seal in the juices. Remove onto a platter and keep aside.
- In the same frypan in which you fried the fish, add the remaining oil, nigella seeds and green chillies. After a few seconds add the mustard paste prepared in step 1 along the remaining ½ teaspoon turmeric and ½ cup water. Cook this curry on low heat until it thickens (10-12 minutes).
- Gently slide in the fish fillets into the curry and make sure they are coated with the masala completely. Simmer for 5-6 minutes until the fish has absorbed most of the masala. Serve hot with rice.
Notes
- If using mustard oil, it is essential to smoke it first. Heat the oil in a saucepan until it starts smoking and changes to a pale yellow color. Let it cool down to room temperature and use it for frying the fish.
- Use frozen fillets if fresh fish is not available.
- Be gentle with the fish fillets as they are delicate and can break easily.
- Reduce the quantity of thai green chillies if you want a less hot curry. Or use another milder variety.
- Nigella seeds are also optional. Omit them by all means.
- Adjust the quantity of water for the gravy according to your preference. If you want more gravy add more water.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below1
Shamita Ray says
Are you using black mustard seeds or yellow?
Saima says
Shamita, I used black mustard seeds.