Aloo Mattar with smoked fish

Aloo Mattar-With smoked fish - Which you may ignore.
Without the fish, it is a great Indian Dish, with the fish it becomes a great delicacy of the state of Manipur.

First the dish and then I will tell the story of the Fish.

I prepare aloo mattar in a number of ways.
Somebody once asked me if I could prepare the mattar that we see in Chaats and Ragda patish (Patties?). Oh! I do and I have prepared it often. Slightly dried to watery ones, again, lol. Drier version go well with chappattis or as snacks where gravy ones go well in rice. And I am a rice eater.

This dish, I am presenting today is a Manipuri dish, modified to suit Bachelor cooking.
I have used dried fish, which is optional.

I will post a picture of another that I cooked without Fish by tonight. It must still be in the camera.

Oh Yeah! I am not feeling too good today. Kind of nauseated, with a mild fever. Yesterday was worse.
I came to work anyway, coz I would have been on my Laptop even at home too.
I was working on something when I realized my brain is not responding, amd my Boss wants me relax.. What better way to relax than blog huh!! Trust me...
I skipped lunch too.. Can't eat anything at all, my tongue is all numb, like there is wool inside. Blogging about food might help.

Oh, so this dish is a modification from a Manipuri delight I was saying.
This a family of recipes, made in much the way you cook Daal.

Boil the stuff you want to cook with potato, mash them and then do a Tadka.
Taste amazing, and very easy and quick to cook.

Tadka masala basically are the same.

Onion cut in Slivers.
Pre- Soaked Meethi Jeera seeds
Garlic Chives ( you will get it in the Chinese section of supermarkets)
This is optional but believe me, the taste will be good and different with this.

4-5 cloves of garlic, and half an inch Ginger, crushed well.
2 green chillis.
Red chillis and Turmeric

Use a little Dhania jeera powder if you have fish in the dish.

So this dish was prepared with fish.

I have learnt that you get this fish as frozen ones imported from Thailand in USA supermarkets.
I still don't know the English name; will let you know once I do it.

In the original version, fresh fish is boiled with potatoes.
Don't say, "YUCK, Boiled fish....."
This dish is never attempted with any other fish, even by us.
Only this particular fish and another similar one is used.


I have used smoked version of the fish I was talking about, and another fish that looks like Rohu but small, it is not young Rohu. Bengalis call it Bata macch..

Try using smoked salmon, lol.

OK, so the fish is totally optional since I have modified it anyway..

Ingredients:

3 large potatoes, peeled
2 tomatoes cut into 4 qtrs
1 cup green peas.

1 medium Onion cut into Slivers.
1 tsp Pre- Soaked Meethi Jeera seeds
Garlic Chives chopped 1 inch long, about 10 leaves
( you will get it in the Chinese section of supermarkets)
This is optional but believe me, the taste will be good and different with this.

4-5 cloves of garlic, and half an inch Ginger, crushed well.
2 green chilies.
Red chilies and Turmeric

So I boiled Potatoes, peas and tomatoes. [with the fish]
When potatoes are done (3 whistles in a Pressure cooker),
Remove and mash the whole mixture using the bottom of a steel tumbler..

Heat about 2 TBS oil in a pan,
Add soaked jeera meethi seeds.
Add the onions (and the garlic chives if you have bought it. )
When Onions are golden brown, Add green Chilis and
add the ginger garlic and saute till the paste change color,
[I also added 1 tbs of dhania jeera powder since it was Fish]
now add half tsp Turmeric and Red Chili powder, stir quickly.
and add the mashed mixture. Add water to your measurement.

It shouldn't be too thick or watery as sambhar.
The water you used for boiling should do if you used 2 cups for 3 potatoes.

Let it shimmer for 5 minutes and serve hot with rice.

This is my entry to Meena's From My Rasoi, Theme: Fusion.