Muri Ghonto. One of the most popular dish of Bengal, and ofcourse the undisputable leader in popularity, when it comes to any dish containing fish head as the main ingredient. Although not completely sure, but probably this is the popularity and the richness of the dish, which has also made me save this dish for a while to share with you (I am sharing this dish after Macher Matha Diye Moog Dal, Lauer Ghonto Diye Macher Matha, Badhakopy Diye Macher Matha. All using fish head as one of the main ingredients.)
Coming from the port through traders and merchants and travelled through sailors, this dish once a fishermen’s staple, has gone through its own course to reach where it is today. It may look like a simple assembling of leftovers for a layman, and till now for many, the dish is just a means to use up the fish head pieces lying in the refrigerator eagerly waiting for its turn. But boy! The true story is completely different. It needs years of practice to master the art of making a perfect Muri Ghonto dish. You need to taste it in person to feel and understand the intricate flavours of all the perfectly balanced ingredients, mesmerising your senses without overpowering one another. For sure, it would be a different experience all together, when you bite into the morsel of fragrant rice, flavoured with juices and the gooey softness of fish bones and skin, along with the combined aroma of the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, topping up with ghee or clarified butter.
Originally, may be the dish was created to be a self-sufficient dish in itself, but over the time the dish Muri Ghonto is mostly taken as a side dish along with steamed hot rice. A mandatory dish for any Bengali Wedding menu or any Bengali feast. For some reason the dish usually precedes the other non-vegetarian dishes in line, that are included in a feast menu. A unique dish that requires acquired taste and patience to have it, Muri Ghonto for sure has its own charm.
Recipe: Muri Ghonto Or Traditional Bengali Fish Head Pilaf
Preparation Time: 23 minutes Cooking Time (Frying Fish Head): 35 minutes (time is dependent on the number of fish heads) Cooking Murighonto: 45 minutes (approximately) Equipment Used: Bowls, knife, peeler, cutting board, pan and a turner Yield: Serves 4-6 people
Ingredients:
- 1 big katla fish head, 2 rohu fish heads
- 3 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 cup and 2 teaspoon mustard oil
- 1 cup basmati rice or any fragrant rice
- 6 cinnamon pieces (each piece approximately 3cm X 0.5cm)
- 3 big potatoes
- 1 onion
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 red chilli (broken into half)
- ½ teaspoon jeera or cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 4-5 cups water
- Around 1 inch X ½ inch ginger
- 2 green chillies
- 1 teaspoon ghee
Method:
- If frozen, take the fish head out from refrigerator and thaw in advance
- Clean the fish head pieces and keep them covered for marination, after rubbing the pieces with 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon red chilli powder, 2 teaspoon mustard oil
- Rinse and soak 1 cup basmati rice in a bowl. Drain the water after few minutes
- Clean three big potatoes, peel and cut them to wedges
- Slice a medium sized onion
- Heat a wok and heat 1 cup mustard oil, once the wok in hot
- Once the oil is hot, fry the fish head pieces one after another and break them
- Now in the same oil add cinnamon pieces, bay leaf, red chilli, and cumin seeds
- Add the sliced onion into the wok once the cumin seeds start spluttering
- Add the cut potato pieces along with 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, jeera powder, garam masala powder and ½ teaspoon sugar, once the onion pieces are fried or they turn translucent
- Mix the ingredients and cover the pan and let the potato pieces cook on sim
- When the potato pieces are slightly cooked, add the rice and let the rice cook along with potato
- Add 1 cup water once the rice granules turn translucent and let the rice and potato cook further
- After few minutes, add another 2 cups water, as the rice gets cooked and together rice and potato soak the water
- Add the fried fish head pieces as bubbles form in the curry
- Mix them. Grate ginger and slit green chilli into the curry
- Taste and adjust salt and sugar. I have added another 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon sugar
- Switch off the flame and spread 1 teaspoon ghee on the curry
Thaw the fish head pieces in advance.
Clean and marinate the fish head pieces.
Rinse and soak basmati rice.
Clean and cut the potato pieces to wedges.
Slice onion.
Heat oil in a wok.
Fry the fish head pieces and break them.
Now in the same oil add cinnamon pieces, bay leaf, red chilli, and cumin seeds.
Add the sliced onion once the cumin seeds start spluttering.
Add the cut potato pieces along with salt, turmeric powder, jeera powder, garam masala powder and sugar.
Mix the ingredients and cover the pan and let the potato pieces cook on sim.
When the potato pieces are slightly cooked, add the rice and let the rice cook along with potato.
Add water once the rice granules turn translucent.
Add another 2 cups water, as the rice gets cooked and together rice and potato soak the water
Add the fried fish head pieces as bubbles form in the curry.
Grate ginger and slit green chilli into the curry.
Taste and adjust salt and sugar.
Switch off the flame and spread 1 teaspoon ghee.
Tips:
- Adjust the quantity of oil as per the quantity and the size of the fish head pieces
- Don’t fry the fish head pieces together. It will be risky as well as cumbersome to fry them together
- To get an evenly fried fish head pieces, flip the pieces 3-4 times while frying, at a gap of few minutes
- Break the fish head pieces in the wok itself, just before taking them out. It becomes difficult to break them after the fried pieces start turning cold
