Macher Dimer Bora is a delicacy in many Bengali households. We Bengali's love to eat each and every part of Fish. Though I made it with Rui Fish but trust me Hilsha Fish Egg will take it to another level. The unavailability of Hilsha in our part made us left with no choice. Anyway I am not complaining as when add piping hot rice hot with these fritters along with a green chili it completely satifies my appetite.
The literal meaning of macher dimer bora (মাছের ডিমের বড়া ) is Fish egg fritters, but it’s not the high end caviar found in Caspian sea that I am referring to. That one is for the Dollar Millionaires who enjoy it with champagne. This one is the humble and affordable dish. Freshwater fishes like Rohu, Hilsa etc. mainly breed during the monsoon time so it’s better that before monsoon arrives at full swing try to buy fishes which have just laid eggs. It’s a delicacy during any Bengali home during this period. Generally enjoyed with piping hot rice and dal, we have a winner in form of these fritters in our hands.
Ingredients:
1 cup Fish Egg (I used Rui Macher dim) cleaned
1 Onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup Besan / Gram flour
2-3 Green chilies, chopped
1/2 tsp Red chili powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
2-3 sprigs of Coriander
1 tbsp Mustard oil (Shosher tel)
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying
Method:
Wash the fish egg properly and pat dry with a kitchen tissue. Mix the chopped onion with mustard oil and salt. Leave this for 5 minutes. Now add turmeric, chili powder, green chilies, besan and chopped coriander leaves, mix thoroughly. Use a fork to separate the eggs rather than squishing.
The consistency of the mixture should be thick batter. Now heat oil in a pan, scoop out lemon size balls and drop them into the hot oil. Be careful not to crowd the pan. Fry them on a low flame for a minute, then flip. Fry until crisp and golden, turning once to brown both sides. Drain and soak the excess oil. Repeat until all the batter is used. Serve them hot with tea or with steamed rice (we generally start our meal with bhaja along with the remaining tel in the pan.)
