RUI-VEG CURRY

Rui fish is a staple in Bangladeshi cuisine. The availability of numerous fresh water bodies in Bangladesh made it extremely available in Bangladesh's fish market, also making it an important part of our cuisine. So much so that although I have lived in four different countries, I somehow managed to get my hands on rui fish every single time. Because without it, my diet isn't complete especially without rui-veg curry. The combination of fish and vegetables is absolutely scrumptious. I prepare it so often that if I blog it each and every time, it would cover another 20 posts in just two months. But to be honest, fish curries do take more time and preparation. You'll know more as I go on with my favorite recipe, credit of which definitely goes to my mom.

First off, I prepared my rui fish pieces by marinating it with turmeric powder and salt. I did have the scales removed before I bought them. After marinating the fish for about 10 minutes, I lightly shallow fried them. While doing so, I chopped my vegetables: cauliflower, tomato, potato, onions, and green chili. Once everything was prepped, in a pan smeared with oil, I added in the onions and let it caramelize on medium heat. Next, keeping the heat unchanged, I added in my spices and seasoning: turmeric powder, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, and salt. After adding a little water, I allowed the spices to cook before adding in my vegetables. I left the tomatoes for later since they cook real quick and waited for the vegetables to cook to my liking (takes about 30 minutes). For this case, I did lower the heat to slow cook the vegetables with the lid on. Just 5 minutes before the vegetables are completely cooked, I went in with the fried fish pieces and the tomatoes. Do check if your gravy needs more salt before adding in the fish since you can't freely stir the curry once the fish pieces are in. Fish meat is so tender that overcook it a little and it will disintegrate in the curry. As we don't remove the fish bones beforehand, it makes the gravy bony. Also why I fried them at the very beginning, although frying helps remove this fishy smell. Since fishes are fairly fresh in Bangladesh, we don't have to worry much about this smell. But since we get frozen fish in the US, this smell really hits me if not prepped properly. I don't know if it is just me but I need to get it prepped. Too picky? Well once everything was cooked, I garnished it with roasted and chopped up garlic. Somehow I was really into the flavor of garlic that week, and I did get to know that I am slightly allergic to garlic. I almost convinced myself to have a small amount of garlic everyday but my body was like "Nope not happening!". It tasted amazing as always and was completely fulfilling too where paired with steamed rice.

Ingredients:

6 pcs rui fish

For marinating:

0.5 tsp turmeric powder

0.5 tsp salt

For curry:

0.5 pcs cauliflower

2 pcs tomatoes

1 pcs medium sized potato

0.5 cup chopped onions

2 pcs green chili

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp salt

For garnish:

6 pcs garlic cloves