Fish has always been a huge part of my diet, growing up my mum and dad (may Allah be pleased with them) always made sure there was plenty of fish in the house and a variety of fish curries on the table come dinner time. My mum had her favourites and Pabda mas (mas means fish) was one of these.

Pabda Fish Curry was a staple, a simple and easy fish to cook which everyone enjoyed – in our house it was often cooked with clementine peel or a citrus fruit known as Citrus Macroptera, better known as Hatkhora or Shatkhora in Bengali, and sometimes it was cooked on its own.

Pabda Mas, known as Indian Catfish in English, isn’t a very bony fish for those of you who have never tried this fish. There is one main bone along the body of the fish and some smaller ones along the rib cage but that’s about it, so it’s a really good one to try if you’re not experienced at eating/cooking fish.

Many people, myself included, think fish is hard to cook but it’s actually one of the easiest and simplest dishes you can cook. Plus it cooks a lot faster than meat or chicken, which is a good thing. The hardest part is in fact prepping the fish (bet you weren’t expecting me to say that, lol) but with my step by step instructions, hopefully it’ll be a walk in the park for you!

The most important thing to remember when you cook fish is that your masala should be cooked well, because fish cooks through in a matter of minutes the masala should be cooked to remove all rawness from the spices prior to adding the fish. After adding the fish it’s important to coat the fish in the masala while it’s still uncooked (do this with the heat turned down low) – if you try to stir or mix the curry after the fish has started to cook through you’ll end up breaking the fish and exposing the bones.

Once the fish is opaque in colour just top up with water, boil for 10 minutes, add your chillies/coriander and it’s done, as easy as that! So without further ado, let’s cook some fish.

Serves – 6

You will need for Pabda Fish Curry

For prepping the fish:
1 block of frozen Pabda mas, thawed completely
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)
water as needed

For the masala:
fresh/dried clementine peel (optional)
1 onion (small – medium size)
2 – 3 tbsp of oil
1 – 1.5 tsp salt (adjust to your taste)
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
5 – 6 green chillies
water (as needed)
coriander (for garnishing)

Method:

If you are using dried clementine peel for this recipe it’s a good idea to soak the pieces with boiling hot water before doing anything else to re-hydrate the peel. There’s no need to do this if you’re using fresh peel.

I’m showing you this for demonstration purposes only as I decided not to add clementine peel to this particular curry but wanted to show you what to do should you wish to use it.

Peel 1 small – medium onion, as shown in the lower right photo. Keeping the top of the onion makes it easier to grate.

Using the large side of a grater, grate the onion and set aside until needed.

To prep the fish you need to remove fins, whiskers, guts and tails.

Start by removing the fins below the head of the Pabda (bottom left photo), use a small knife to cut into the flesh. Use your hands to pull them out after cutting….

….this is what it looks like when removed (top left photo).

Now flip the fish over and remove the other fin (top right photo).

After removing the fins you need to remove the innards/guts of the fish, eugh I know but it’s gotta be done, just take a deep breath, put your fingers in (bottom left and right photo), grab, pull and hey presto, all out!

Next remove the whiskers of the fish (top left photo, it ain’t called Catfish for nothing, lol!). Use a knife or pair of scissors to remove.

Proceed to remove the whisker on top of the head (top right photo) and the tail (bottom left photo).

If your fish are very large, as mine were, cut the fish in half, if however your Pabda are smaller, leave them whole. I like cutting my fish at a slight angle (bottom right photo) to align with the direction of the fish bones along the stomach, not necessary, but thought I’d share.

I’m not sure what this next part is called in English but there’s a small white sack in the head of the padba mas (top left photo) that I like to remove, it’s called Futkhuna in Bengali. Some people leave it in because they enjoy eating it, I personally remove it but it’s entirely your choice.

And another close up photo of the guts of the fish (top right photo) so you know what you’re removing. Only another 5 or 6 Pabda to clean using all of these steps AND THEN you can start cooking!

Once all your fish are clean add 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder (turmeric is only essential if you feel the fish aren’t very fresh)….

….and 1 tbsp of lemon juice. I normally only use salt to soak my fish prior to cooking but on this occasion I felt the need to add turmeric powder AND lemon juice as the fish didn’t seem as fresh as they should be, so use your judgement and add whatever you feel is necessary.

Top up with enough cold water to cover the fish and leave to soak until needed.

In a medium sized saucepan add 2 – 3 tbsp of oil.

Once the oil is hot, add the grated onion, followed by 1 – 1.5 tsp of salt (adjust to your taste, it’s better to add less as you can add more later if you feel you need it).

Stir well and then cover. Cook over a low – medium heat until the onions are translucent and soft (approx 8 – 10 mins).

After 8 – 10 minutes check to see if your onions are soft, if you feel it’s too dry add a splash of water like I did.

Cook for a few minutes and once you can see the oil has separated from the onions (top right photo, this means the oil is bubbling around the edges of the onion), start to add your spices.

ADD THE CLEMENTINE PEEL (dried/fresh) now if you are using this, this will give it time to cook.

Add 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp turmeric powder….

….1 tsp coriander powder, mix and allow to fry for a few minutes.

I decided to add 1/2 tsp of Kashmiri Chilli powder as I wanted the curry to look a bright reddish colour, this is optional and merely for aesthetic purposes, not adding it won’t affect the overall taste of the curry.

After the spices have fried for several minutes and the rawness has gone, add a splash of water to create a thick masala.

Cover and cook the masala for a further 5 – 10 minutes, over a low flame, whilst you wash the fish.

Rub and massage the fish as you wash it under cold running water.

Drain the water and wash again, several times, until the water runs clear.

Place the fish in a colander and allow to drain once you are happy the fish have been thoroughly washed.

The masala is ready to have the fish added to it once the oil has separated from the onions (top left photo).

Add the washed fish and gently, using a wooden spoon, coat all of the fish with the masala. This will be the ONLY time you stir the fish using a spoon so make sure you coat everything evenly over a low flame.

Once coated, place the lid back on the saucepan and turn the heat up to medium till you can see water oozing out of the fish.

In the meantime slice 5 – 6 green chillies and chop your coriander (I used frozen so didn’t need to chop any).

Once you can see the fish are looking cooked and solid in colour (top right photo), you may proceed to add water to create the gravy (shira) for the curry (bottom left photo).

Add as much or as little as you like, remember the more water you add to the curry the more watered down the curry will taste. I tend to add just enough water to cover the fish without drowning them (bottom right photo, pun intended lol).

Turn the heat up to full and boil for 10 minutes.

2 minutes before removing the curry from the heat add in the sliced green chillies.

Immediately before removing the curry from the heat add the chopped coriander. If you are using frozen coriander like me make sure you allow it to cook through for 1 minute to stop it turning dark green once removed from the heat.

Serve your Pabda Fish Curry with plain Basmati or long grain rice and enjoy!

5.0 from 2 reviews

Pabda Fish Curry

 

Print

Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

Author: Afelia's Kitchen

Serves: 6

Ingredients

For prepping the fish:

• 1 block of frozen Pabda mas, thawed completely
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp turmeric powder (optional)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)
• water as needed

For the masala:

• fresh/dried clementine peel (optional)
• 1 onion (small - medium size)
• 2 - 3 tbsp of oil
• 1 - 1.5 tsp salt (adjust to your taste)
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 5 - 6 green chillies
• water (as needed)
• coriander (for garnishing)

Method

1. If you are using dried clementine peel for this recipe it's a good idea to soak the pieces with boiling hot water before doing anything else to re-hydrate the peel. There's no need to do this if you're using fresh peel.
2. I'm showing you this for demonstration purposes only as I decided not to add clementine peel to this particular curry but wanted to show you what to do should you wish to use it.
3. Peel 1 small - medium onion, as shown in the lower right photo. Keeping the top of the onion makes it easier to grate.
4. Using the large side of a grater, grate the onion and set aside until needed.
5. To prep the fish you need to remove fins, whiskers, guts and tails.
6. Start by removing the fins below the head of the Pabda (bottom left photo), use a small knife to cut into the flesh. Use your hands to pull them out after cutting....
7. this is what it looks like when removed (top left photo).
8. Now flip the fish over and remove the other fin (top right photo).
9. After removing the fins you need to remove the innards/guts of the fish, eugh I know but it's gotta be done, just take a deep breath, put your fingers in (bottom left and right photo), grab, pull and hey presto, all out!
10. Next remove the whiskers of the fish (top left photo, it ain't called Catfish for nothing, lol!). Use a knife or pair of scissors to remove.
11. Proceed to remove the whisker on top of the head (top right photo) and the tail (bottom left photo).
12. If your fish are very large, as mine were, cut the fish in half, if however your Pabda are smaller, leave them whole. I like cutting my fish at a slight angle (bottom right photo) to align with the direction of the fish bones along the stomach, not necessary, but thought I'd share.
13. I'm not sure what this next part is called in English but there's a small white sack in the head of the padba mas (top left photo) that I like to remove, it's called Futkhuna in Bengali. Some people leave it in because they enjoy eating it, I personally remove it but it's entirely your choice.
14. And another close up photo of the guts of the fish (top right photo) so you know what you're removing. Only another 5 or 6 Pabda to clean using all of these steps AND THEN you can start cooking!
15. Once all your fish are clean add ½ tsp of salt, ½ tsp of turmeric powder (turmeric is only essential if you feel the fish aren't very fresh)....
16. and 1 tbsp of lemon juice. I normally only use salt to soak my fish prior to cooking but on this occasion I felt the need to add turmeric powder AND lemon juice as the fish didn't seem as fresh as they should be, so use your judgement and add whatever you feel is necessary.
17. Top up with enough cold water to cover the fish and leave to soak until needed.
18. In a medium sized saucepan add 2 - 3 tbsp of oil.
19. Once the oil is hot, add the grated onion, followed by 1 - 1.5 tsp of salt (adjust to your taste, it's better to add less as you can add more later if you feel you need it).
20. Stir well and then cover. Cook over a low - medium heat until the onions are translucent and soft (approx 8 - 10 mins).
21. After 8 - 10 minutes check to see if your onions are soft, if you feel it's too dry add a splash of water like I did.
22. Cook for a few minutes and once you can see the oil has separated from the onions (top right photo, this means the oil is bubbling around the edges of the onion), start to add your spices.
23. ADD THE CLEMENTINE PEEL (dried/fresh) now if you are using this, this will give it time to cook.
24. Add 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp turmeric powder....
25. tsp coriander powder, mix and allow to fry for a few minutes.
26. I decided to add ½ tsp of Kashmiri Chilli powder as I wanted the curry to look a bright reddish colour, this is optional and merely for aesthetic purposes, not adding it won't affect the overall taste of the curry.
27. After the spices have fried for several minutes and the rawness has gone, add a splash of water to create a thick masala.
28. Cover and cook the masala for a further 5 - 10 minutes, over a low flame, whilst you wash the fish.
29. Rub and massage the fish as you wash it under cold running water.
30. Drain the water and wash again, several times, until the water runs clear.
31. Place the fish in a colander and allow to drain once you are happy the fish have been thoroughly washed.
32. The masala is ready to have the fish added to it once the oil has separated from the onions (top left photo).
33. Add the washed fish and gently, using a wooden spoon, coat all of the fish with the masala. This will be the ONLY time you stir the fish using a spoon so make sure you coat everything evenly over a low flame.
34. Once coated, place the lid back on the saucepan and turn the heat up to medium till you can see water oozing out of the fish.
35. In the meantime slice 5 - 6 green chillies and chop your coriander (I used frozen so didn't need to chop any).
36. Once you can see the fish are looking cooked and solid in colour (top right photo), you may proceed to add water to create the gravy (shira) for the curry (bottom left photo).
37. Add as much or as little as you like, remember the more water you add to the curry the more watered down the curry will taste. I tend to add just enough water to cover the fish without drowning them (bottom right photo, pun intended lol).
38. Turn the heat up to full and boil for 10 minutes.
39. minutes before removing the curry from the heat add in the sliced green chillies.
40. Immediately before removing the curry from the heat add the chopped coriander. If you are using frozen coriander like me make sure you allow it to cook through for 1 minute to stop it turning dark green once removed from the heat.
41. Serve your Pabda Fish Curry with plain Basmati or long grain rice and enjoy!

3.5.3251