Muri ghonto, fish head cooked with mung dal, is an old Bengali favourite with hot rice. A recipe published by Agricare24 says three steps decide the result: cleaning the head well, roasting the dal and cooking the spices down properly.
Ingredients: fish heads as needed, one and a half cups of mung dal, half a cup of chopped onion, a medium tomato, a few green chillies, ginger and garlic paste, turmeric, chilli, coriander and cumin powder, garam masala, roasted cumin powder, bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, salt, oil, four cups of hot water, a tablespoon of ghee, coriander leaves and, if you like, fried onion.
Preparation: wash the fish heads several times in water mixed with atta or flour to cut the fishy smell, rinse in clean water, rub with a little salt and turmeric and set aside for 15 minutes. Dry-roast the mung dal over low heat for 3-4 minutes, then soak it in water for 15-20 minutes.
Cooking: fry the fish heads lightly in hot oil and lift them out. In the same oil, temper the bay leaves, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and brown the onion. Add the turmeric, chilli, coriander and cumin powders with a splash of water and cook the spices down; when the oil separates, add the tomato and cook until soft.
Add the fried heads and garam masala, then the soaked dal, stir well and pour in four cups of hot water with salt to taste. Cover and simmer. When the dal is soft, adjust water and salt, add green chillies and roasted cumin and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
Finish with coriander leaves, ghee, lime leaves if you have them and fried onion; cover for a moment and turn off the heat. The dish is usually made with the head of a large rui or katla, turning a part often thrown away into a full dish. Agricare24 says the recipe comes from Bangla Tribune.
Photo: Pranab Saikia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Agricare24
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