“Fish fat is very good for skin, why are you discarding? Eat it NOW, otherwise…” I can still remember how Granny used to scold me whenever she found that I’m peeling off the thin skin from fish pieces and keeping them on the side of my plate. As a kid, I didn’t like the taste of that thin fish skin. In Bengali, we call the thin fish skin as Mach er tel and the main ingredient of my today’s recipe post is also called Mach er tel but this fish fat/macher tel is different from the fish skin. The fish fat used in this recipe was collected from the stomach of a large fish. Along with the fat, it has included fish intestine and liver. Usually, a fish seller takes these parts out from a whole fish while cutting it into pieces. It is recommended to make this dish with fresh fish fat, so, make it sure to cook Mach er Teler Chochhori on the same day when you’ll be buying fish fat next. When it comes to tasting, one should acquire the taste of eating this dish, either you can love it or hate it, but if you’re a fish/seafood lover, then there are high chances that you’ll like this Chochhori on the first encounter.
I’ve grown up eating Mach er tel er bora/Fish fat Fritters, and I’m very fond of it, but Ma never cooked this Chochhori back home. After marriage, on a visit to my husband’s Aunt’s place, I was introduced to this dish for the first time. The texture, taste, richness of the dish was so addictive that we immediately penned down the recipe from Aunt and after coming back to home we tried to make it, since then it’s a staple in our family. Below is how we cook it, also don’t forget to cook enough rice to go with Mach er Teler Chochhori. 🙂
Mach er Teler Chochhori/Fish fat Mishmash
Ingredients
- Fish Fat, Intestine and Fish liver/Mach er tel- 300g
- Potato- 2 (medium sized)
- Eggplant- 1 (medium sized)
- Onion- 1 large (chopped)
- Coriander powder- ½ tsp
- Cumin powder- ½ tsp
- Red chilli powder- ½ tsp
- Ginger paste- 1 tsp
- Garlic paste- 1 tbsp
- Turmeric powder- ½ tsp
- Salt to taste
- Green chillies- 4 chopped (adjust as per your tolerance)
- Whole dry red chilli- 1 (broken into halves)
- Kalojire/Kalonji/Nigella seeds- ¼ tsp
- Mustard oil- ¼ cup
- Garam masala powder- ¼ tsp
Method
Clean the fish fat well, keep aside.
Cut potatoes and eggplants into cubes, wash and keep aside.
Heat oil in a deep frying pan/kadai, add cubed potatoes and fry on medium heat until golden. Remove and keep aside. In the remaining oil temper with dry red chilli and nigella seeds. Add chopped onion, stir on medium heat until light brown in colour. Next to add ginger-garlic paste, green chillies, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder and salt. Mix and sauté for a few seconds. Now add potatoes and eggplant cubes and fish fat. Mix well, cook on medium heat until the potatoes are done and the raw smell of fish fat goes, 20 minutes approximately. Add garam masala powder, mix and remove from the heat.
Serve hot as a side with steamed rice.
