Aam Doi Bata

The passing of summer month renewed the pain of another mango season going by without me getting an opportunity to bite into the mellow juicy flesh of the ripe mangoes. It's been years, precisely, when I have been compensating my mango craving with the ripe-looking but sour-tasting inferior quality of mangoes available in the places outside Bengal. The mangoes that we used to get in Bangalore and the ones we get here in USA look very appealing. The combination of crimson and yellow hue, very typical texture of ripe mangoes, is aplenty in sight, but the taste does not match anywhere near to the lip-smacking Fazli, Himsagar or Langra of West Bengal. Bengal with its soaring temperature, high humidity and moist climate is perhaps ideal for mango cultivation. Though mangoes are fertile under various weather conditions upon a wide range of soils, the best qualities, however, are determined by certain factors including temperature, humidity and rainfall in exact amount.

For the recipe below, a small raw mango will suffice as the taste demands it to be aligned towards sourness. Aside from Bata fish, I think this recipe will rightly fit in for Tangra or any fish medium to small in size.

Ingredients:                                              Cooking time: 30 minutes ü  500 gm bata fish ü  1 onion (ground into paste) ü  3 heaped tbsp yogurt, beaten ü  1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste ü  4-5 green chillies (ground into paste) ü  100 gm raw mango (grated) ü  1 tsp turmeric powder ü  1 tsp cumin powder ü  1 tsp black pepper ü  1 tsp cardamom powder ü  1 tsp sugar ü  Salt to taste ü  Mustard oil for cooking For sauté: ü  1 bay leaf ü  2 dry red chillies ü  1 string of curry leaves ü  1 tsp cumin seeds Method: 1) Toss the fish in a pinch of turmeric powder and salt. Deep fry them and keep aside. 2) Heat mustard oil in a wok. As oil turns piping hot, add the ingredients for sauté and allow them to sputter. 3) Add onion and fry till the onion changes color. Add ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, cumin powder and grated raw mango. Sauté for 2 minutes. 4) In a bowl, mix together yogurt, black pepper, cardamom powder, green chilli paste and sugar. Pour this into the gravy in making. Add 1/2 cup of water and salt. Simmer for few minutes. 5) Slide in the fried fishes. Cook covered on low heat for 2 minutes. 6) Serve hot with steaming rice.