Grilled Katla with Indian Spices!

It was Panchami yesterday and I have decided to not to cook anything that will kill my time as always; as you don’t expect me to give extra time to cooking given I have to finish more than 3 Pujabarshikis. Moreover, it was Sunday too and I have planned for an extended sleep but alas! At around 9:30 a.m. (it was too early to wake up believe me) Sabina came with my morning cup of Lemon water and informed that we must go to nearby veggie and fish market as we are little out of stock! What’s next! Grab my little one along with Sabina and a short drive to the market and that entire episode took me 1.5 hours! Along with some good quality Ilish Mach (Hilsa), Pomfret and Topse I picked around 1.5 Kg of Katla mach (Katla fish) as well. Rui or Katla (a Bong’s favorite) is a must thing in my place given these are the two verities of fish that I prefer to give Pasta! Well a typical Bong mom who knows how important to feed fish to the little pumpkin! However, after returning home both me and Sabina were dog tired and I hurriedly make some Murgir Jhol (a typical Bong Chicken delicacy) and Sabina took charge of making rice and this was our Panchami Lunch! Pasta never complains about her mother’s shortest possible cooking ventures however her mother was a bit awkward with the little menu and there comes the idea of dinner! Well that was only a three course one where the first item in the menu is Grilled Katla with Indian spices! This is nothing but an easy fish Tanduri with Katla fish. Other two items that I prepared are Lemon Rice and Doi Potol!

Katla is a fish from sweetwater and is a household name in Bong kitchens! I often make Shorshe Bata diye Maach er Jhal (Fish in Mustard gravy) or Doi Mach with Katla and sometimes opt for the Grilled Katla as well. I mostly make it as part of dinner given this dish required two level of marination. Marinated with some common Indian spices the Grilled version of Katla fish taste amazing every time. However, this time I have twisted few spices and this is nothing but the effect of my Kerala trip where I had grilled fishes with southern spices several time and loved those. I have added little Tamarind pulp in my marination which I generally don’t do and it came out superb! I have used my own Achari Masala while preparing this grilled fish however this can be substituted with normal Tanduri Masala but Achari Masala gives really amazing flavour to the fish.  This modified Grilled Katla is a big hit today and Pasta completed her dinner while watching Bajrangi Bhaijaan along with a piece of Grilled Katla and Lemon Rice.

Coming to the recipe, it is better to use fish chunk from big size fish (Paka Maach) for making grilled fish and marination is must! Higher the time of marination, juicier the fish after grilling! I prefer to bake fish in a tray first and then transfer it to the grilling tray and I love to brush fish pieces with little Ghee as Ghee gives an amazing aroma to the fish chunk. Rest of the details of Grilled Katla given below.

Grilled Katla with Indian Spices!

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Grilled Katla Fish flavoured with Indian spices..

• Total Time: 6 hours 40 mins
• Yield: 5-6 People

Ingredients

• Katla Fish: 5-6 Pieces (80-100 g each)

Marination 1:

• Salt: ½ Tsp.
• Turmeric Powder: 1 Tsp.
• Lemon Juice: 3 Tbsp.

Marination 2:

• Onion Paste: 3 Tbsp.
• Ginger Paste: 1 Tsp.
• Garlic Paste: 2 Tsp.
• Hung Curd: 4 Tbsp.
• Tamarind Pulp: 1 Tbsp.
• Kashmiri Red Chili Powder: 1 Tsp.
• Homemade Achari Masala: 2 Tsp.
• Garam Masala Powder: 1 Tsp.
• Salt: ½ Tsp.

Other:

• Onion: 2
• Potato: 2
• Garlic Clove: 8-10
• Mustard Oil: 1 Tbsp.
• Ghee: 1 Tbsp.

Instructions

1. Wash fish pieces thoroughly and dry on kitchen towel.
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Marination level 1:

1. Rub Salt, Turmeric Powder and Lemon Juice to the fish pieces and marinate for 1 hour. Keep fish pieces in Refrigerator.

Marination Level 2:

1. Mix Onion Paste, Ginger Paste, Garlic Paste, Hung Curd, Tamarind Pulp, Kashmiri Red Chili Powder, Achari Masala, Garam Masala Powder and Salt in a bowl and make a thick paste.
2. Apply this paste to the marinated fish pieces generously and keep the fish pieces in refrigerator for 4-5 hours. I have kept fish in fridge for around 7 hours.

Making of the Baking bed and Grilling:

1. Pre-heat the oven in 200 degree c for 10 minutes.
2. Cut Potato and Onion into thick slices and place those in a baking tray after applying some Mustard oil on the tray. Making of the baking bed with veggies is optional but these baked veggies taste amazing while serving with the grilled fishes.
3. Place marinated fish pieces on the Veggie bed and then place Garlic cloves here and there.
4. Now apply some Mustard oil over the fish pieces using a pastry brush.
5. Place the tray in the middle rack of oven and bake for 10 minutes in 180 degree c.
6. Take the tray out of the oven and flip the fish pieces and again bake for 10 minutes in 180 degree c.
7. Now take the tray out carefully and place only fish pieces on a grill rack and apply Ghee over the fishes and then grill in 200 degree C for 10 minutes.
8. Take fishes out of the oven and serve with the veggies baked along with the fish and with some chutney and salad of choice.

• Author: Debjani Chatterjee
• Prep Time: 6 hours
• Cook Time: 40 mins

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