Chire Diye Muri Ghonto / Bengali Fish Head Pulao with Flattened Rice

Generally we make Muri Ghonto with Gobindobhog rice....but recently I came to know that it’s also made with chire or flattened rice sometimes. I got this recipe from my friend, which belonged to her grandmother. When I inquired about it to my Mami, she also confirmed that this version of muri ghonto is also popular in some families.

My grandmother was a great cook and she used to make a lip smacking muri ghonto. I always regret the fact that I started cooking way after she left us. She came to Kolkata during partition and it was because of her root, that, she knew a lot of Bangal ranna, which she used to cook up often, to amaze us with her soulful cooking skill. She was an amazing lady, full of wit and wisdom loved by all.

Fry the flattened rice / chira in a little oil until crisp.

Fry the marinated fishes until golden from outside.

Shallow fry the potato cubes until golden.

Temper the rest of the oil with whole spices.

Then add chopped onions to them.

Fry the onions until translucent.

Add the ginger - garlic paste to it and fry for another 2-3 minutes.

Add the turmeric powder, cumin powder and coriander powder.

Add the potatoes.

Add some water and mix everything. Cover and cook till the potatoes are cooked from inside.

When the potatoes are cooked add fried chire / flattened rice to them.

Add the broken fish head and green peas. Mix well and cook till the peas are cooked and everything is well incorporated.

Sprinkle some garam masala powder over them and put off the flame.

With all due respect and love for my Muri Ghonto, it still is a rich and heavy side dish which must be made with a good amount of oil. The addition of Gobindobhog Rice and Mustard oil is the backbone of this dish and the main source of flavour. The positive aspect of Chire Muri Ghonto is replacing rice with chire, which makes “The Muri Ghonto” much lighter in taste and feel. And I am going to make this one again just for only this reason.

Chire Diye Muri Ghonto / Bengali Pulao with Fish head and Flattened Rice

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 heads of large fishes

1 medium onion – chopped

1 medium potato – peeled and cubed

4 fat cloves of garlic – paste

½ inch ginger – paste

1 and ½ tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander power

1 tsp garam masala powder

1 whole cinnamon stick

3 green cardamoms

3 cloves

1 large bay leaf

½ cup mustard oil

A handful of green peas

Salt

Method:

Sprinkle 1 tsp turmeric powder over the fish heads and cubed potatoes. Keep aside for 15 minutes.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in the kadai and fry the chire / flattened rice in it until they become crisp. It will take hardly 2 minutes.

After that take them out of the pan / kadai and place them on a kitchen towel / tissue paper to soak up the excess oil.

Heat up the remaining oil and shallow fry the fish heads in it until golden from outside.

 Once done take them out of the pan and keep aside in a bowl.

In the same oil shallow fry the cubed potatoes until lightly golden. After frying take them out of the pan and keep in a separate bowl.

Temper the rest of the oil with cinnamon stick, green cardamoms, cloves and bay leaf.

Sauté them for half a minute and then add chopped onions to them.

Sauté the onions until translucent and then add the ginger garlic paste to them.

Mix them well and cook until the onions are lightly golden brown.

In the mean time take the fish heads and with the back of a spoon crush them a little to make small pieces out of them. Do not crush too much or else the dish will be crowded with small pieces of fish heads and it will be very difficult to eat. If you wish you can pick out the small pieces and leave behind the big pieces of fish head and their flesh.

When the onions have turned golden brown add the fried cubed potatoes, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and some water.

Mix them well, sprinkle some salt over them and put cover.

Cook in this way until the potatoes are nicely cooked and have become soft from inside.

Now wait for the water to evaporate and then add the fried fish heads, fried chire / flattened rice and the green peas. If you are using fresh peas then you should add them with the potatoes because they take a little time to cook unlike the frozen ones, which gets cooked in a jiffy.

Sprinkle some more salt over them and mix them well. Do not stir too much or else the chire / flattened rice will turn mushy and mashed.

If you feel the dish is too dry, add a dash of water along of the edges of the kadai and put cover.

Cook like this for another 3-4 minutes or until the peas are cooked.

Finally sprinkle the garam masala powder over them and put off the flame.

Serve hot with plain hot rice, bhaja muger dal and crispy potato fries.