Muri Ghonto, Why Bengalis Love Fish Head Pulao
Muri-ghonto, fish head cooked with rice, potato and whole spices, is beloved across Bengal, Orissa and Assam. Satarupa Bhattacharya’s particular recipe is rooted in East Bengal and the Partition of India.
Sundays were special in our family. My mother was busy on every day of the week, except Sundays. On Sundays she would enter the kitchen, tailed by my excited Baba who would have an entire meal planned — invariably including muri ghonto. The strong aroma of spices, fish head and tail, and rice, would envelop our home. And that would set my grandmother telling stories from Sukumar Ray's Abol Tabol. Funny limericks and songs would ensue, while my parents cooked up an elaborate lunch. Nowadays, I find myself quite dependent on those memories, and cooking has become a way to reconnect with my own story.
Muri-ghonto, or fish-head cooked in rice and potatoes with whole spices, is savoured across Bengal, Orissa, and Assam. Key variations include the use of tomato and ghee — two flavours probably used to temper the pungent flavour of mustard oil. Some recipes include vegetables like green peas, carrot, and cauliflower, for assorted colour and texture I’d assume. These recipes are quite close to the preparation of fish-pilaf, or even to the description of the first pilaf recipe as described by Arminius Vambery in 1860. My mother's recipe for muri-ghonto however, does not have room for tomatoes, or any vegetable that is not a potato. She believes the flavours are 'supposed to tingle one’s tongue.' As I gather ingredients to cook, she reminds me every time: the preparation of a good muri ghonto has everything to do one’s culinary chops. Her favoured method is to stir-fry the fish-parts first, letting it crumble into bits and pieces over the course of steam-cooking.
My mother loves the head of fish. Almost all her Bengali recipes include fish head. This was especially important to her because her Bangal heritage was different from the Ghoti diet that my Baba was accustomed to. As a matter of fact, these dishes introduced us as children to the Partition of India; my mother's family had to evacuate East Bengal overnight. My maternal grandmother had only the saree she wore on her body, and her sitar. Her siblings too, carried whatever few things they could lay their hands on, saying goodbye to older family whom they never saw again. When they came to India, muri-ghonto, an easy preparation, fed everyone quite quickly. It was probably the only recipe they knew.
Growing up, I believed that fish-head was a very Bangal thing until later, when I realized we weren't the only ones to relish fish head. The famous paella was also prepared similar to muri-ghonto in some parts of Spain. This here is my mother's recipe for muri-ghonto.
Muri-Ghonto or Fish Head Curry
Ingredients
2 fish heads and tail parts of rohu or katla
1/2 a cup of gobindobhog rice, or basmati, soaked in water for 30-60 minutes
3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large bayleaf
1 large red dry chilli
3 green chillies
1 onion, ground
50 g of ginger, pounded
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
6-8 black peppercorns
4 sticks of clove
1 small cinnamon stick
4 green cardamom
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
3-4 tbsp of cold-pressed mustard oil
1 tbsp ghee
Salt, to taste
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp red chili powder
1/2 cup of water
Method
Cut the fish heads into two halves. Rub with salt and turmeric powder and set aside for half an hour.
On high flame, bring mustard oil to smoking, and stir-fry the fish heads and tail. Set aside.
Stir fry the potatoes similarly, and set aside.
Place a deep-set pan or a wok on the stove. Add mustard oil to it. Once the oil begins to smoke, reduce the flame and add bayleaf, dry red chilli, black peppercorns, green cardamoms, and cinnamon stick. Then pour the ground ginger, onion, and crushed garlic in the oil. Add sugar, garam masala, salt, and green chillies to this, one ingredient at a time. A little red chilli powder would be wonderful addition, but adds to the pungent flavour (I use a crushed red chilli variant found in the Northern parts of India - Kuti mirch). Stir fry until slightly brown.
Drain the water from the rice, and add the rice and fried diced potatoes to the spices in the wok. Pour in some water and lower the flame. Allow to simmer. Close and allow to cook for 15 minutes.
Once the rice and potatoes begin to swell, add the fried fish head to the mix in the wok. Stir well. The fish pieces will begin to break up. This might release a little oil but keep stirring with a ladle till everything is cooked and mixed together. Close it and allow cook for 10 minutes.
If you are not used to the piquant flavours of mustard oil and whole spices, then add a tablespoon full of ghee to the mix, stir well, and serve. This tempering is best done right before turning off the fire, or within the last few minutes before taking the wok off the flame. Then again, if you love the pungent flavour of the mustard, add a few drops of raw mustard oil to finish the dish, before removing from the flame.
Serve with boiled white rice.
Satarupa Bhattacharya is based out of Delhi. She writes on various subjects ranging from politics to the arts and popular culture to history. She's currently too busy compiling Bengali recipes in her kitchen.
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