Saturday, February 9, 2013

Lau Maach, Squash with Salmon in a Mustard and Poppyseed sauce, লাউ মাছ পোস্ত দিয়ে

I couldn't find a Bengali recipe for Squash or Lau (Gourd) with Salmon. Since Lau-Chingri (Gourd with Shrimps) exists, then why not mix Lau with another oceanic creature?

So here is my lovely creation. I have to say, it tastes absolutely wonderful with some rice. Doesn't take long to prepare either.

400-600g salmon, cut into 100g pieces
1 large squash cut into thin 1 inch pieces (roughly 3-4 cups)
2 tbsp black mustard, ground
1 tbsp white poppy seeds, ground
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp turmeric/haldi powder
2 tbsp mustard oil
1 tsp panch phoron
2 green/red chillies (optional)
salt to taste
1.5 cups of water

1. Place the ground mustard seeds, ground poppy seeds, 1 tsp red chilli powder in a non-reactive bowl and add 1/2 cup of water to soak the seeds in. Leave this for 10 minutes or so. If the mixture looks dry add a little more water until it is the consistency of cooked oats  or beaten eggs.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the Salmon with 1 tsp of haldi and some salt. In a heated pan, add 1-2 tsps of oil and lightly fry the salmon for 1 minute on each side.
3. Remove the fish from the pan and keep it on a separate plate.
4. To the pan still on the heat, add the remainder of the mustard oil. Wait till it's hot then add the panch phoron.
5. Once the panch phoron sizzles, add all of the squash/gourd/lau at once and mix thoroughly. Add salt to taste.
6. After about 5 minutes of cooking, add the mustard/poppy seed paste, 1.5 cups of water, green chillies and stir till everything is evenly combined.
7. Drop in the salmon pieces gently. Submerge under the liquid. Cover the pan with a lid and turn the heat to medium-low and let it come to a boil.
8. Cook all of this for at least 10-15 minutes.

Serve with hot rice.

Yum! Yum! Yum!

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