Tel Koi/Climbing Perch Braised in Oil

Koi mach or climbing perch curry is one of Bengali's favorites in winter season and always made with minimal spices. A few weeks back I had shared very simple stew with cauliflower, potato and bori cooked in a lightly spiced ginger-tomato based broth. Tel koi is another recipe as its name implies, braised in very generous amount of mustard oil. Every family makes their own way with different spices. My Ma always cooked thin soupy type(patla jhol) and mustard gravy with minimum oil. As far as I remember she never used onion or garlic. For this recipe I use very little mustard paste, a few eggplant, potato wedges and not too much oil as it is supposed be. 

Koi/climbing perch is sold live in India. It climbs out of water, can walk on land and stays alive longer than any other fish. So it is quite difficult to handle for cleaning. I can't imagine how my Ma scaled and gutted them. All I remember she used coal ash to make sure fish didn't slip away from her hand. Honestly, I can't do that. These days fish mongers does the cleaning job most of the time. We get semi cleaned frozen koi/climbing perch from Asian super market and it tastes pretty good. I would advise to cook it as soon as you buy to ensure the taste. 

Ingredients~
3 pieces of climbing perch, about 14 oz.
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh mustard paste
1/4 cup mustard oil + 1 1/2 tbsp
1/8 tsp onion seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric 
1/4 tsp paprika
3-4 red chilies, 1 slightly slit
4 pieces of small potato wedges
5-6 pieces of eggplant wedges
1 /2 cup hot water
A few sprigs of cilantro(optional)

Method~
Clean fish pieces, pat dry with paper towel and smear with little turmeric and salt. Heat 1/3 cup mustard oil in a pan over medium high heat. Swallow fry both sides of fish pieces to light golden brown and set aside. In the same pan temper nigella seeds and saute potato and eggplant wedges for a few minutes. Reduce heat to low.  Add mustard paste and saute until oil starts to separate. Add hot water, salt, turmeric, paprika and slit chilies. Bring it to boil and drop fish pieces. Cook for 8-10 minutes over medium heat. Taste and adjust the seasonings. At last add 1 1/2  tbsp mustard oil and turn the heat off. Let it cool for a while. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve with hot seamed rice. 

Happy Cooking