Freshwater fish, fried in mustard oil, then simmered in a thin, gingery broth with potato and turmeric — Bengal's everyday fish curry, eaten over rice.
What makes it macher jhol
Freshwater fish steaks, rubbed with turmeric and salt and fried in mustard oil.
A thin, loose broth, not a thick sauce.
Potato, and a tempering of nigella or panch phoron.
Eaten with plain rice.
Where it comes from
The dish of maach-bhaat, fish and rice, cooked daily in homes across West Bengal and Bangladesh. Steaks of rohu or katla, both big river carp, are rubbed with turmeric and salt and fried first, so they hold together in the pot.
It's meant to be light — jhol means a thin gravy — and every family's differs: some add tomato, some cauliflower or aubergine in season, and it's the dish given to anyone feeling under the weather.
How it varies
Macher kalia
The rich, festive cousin: more onion, ginger, garam masala and ghee.
Macher jhal
Hotter and drier, with ground mustard and green chilli.