Click on the image, above to submit to Pinterest.

Masor Tenga (Assamese Red Fish Curry)

Masor Tenga (Assamese Red Fish Curry) is a traditional Indian recipe (from Assam) for a red curry of fish and potatoes in a lightly-spiced tomato gravy with kokum. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Indian version of: Assamese Red Fish Curry (Masor Tenga).

prep time

5 minutes

cook time

35 minutes

Total Time:

40 minutes

Serves:

6

Rating:

Tags : CurrySpice RecipesIndian Recipes

This is a popular fish curry from Assam (and one of the few Assamese recipes that I have added to this site so far). It is traditionally made with rohu (a member of the carp family) or catfish. It has a tangy flavour and deep red colour due to the use of kokam the outer cover of the fruit of Garcinia indica that is dried and used as a spice and colouring agent. The curry is cooked in mustard oil and green peas are often added near the end of cooking.

Ingredients:

1kg (2 lb) fresh fish, scaled, cleaned and cut into serving portions
4 kokum
1 tsp mustard seeds
4 green chillies
2 tsp sea salt
1 bunch coriander (leaves only), chopped
500g (1 lb) tomatoes, chopped
250ml (1 cup) mustard oil
2 medium potatoes
1 tbsp rice flour
2 tsp ground turmeric

Method:

Place the prepared fish in a large bowl then scatter of the turmeric powder and 1 tsp salt. Toss to combine. Heat the mustard oil in a wok or deep pan. Add the fish and fry until pieces are crisp and brown. You will probably need to fry the fish pieces in batches. Once cooked drain on kitchen paper and set aside.

In the meantime, boil the tomatoes and peeled potatoes in lightly-salted water so that both are tender and soft. Mash the tomatoes to get a puree and quarter the potatoes. Boil the kokum in 500ml (2 cups) of water for about 10 minutes. Take off the heat and set aside to infuse.

Pour out all but 2 tsp of the oil used to fry the fish. Add the mustard seeds and split green chillies and fry for about 90 seconds, until the mustard seeds splutter and just turn brown. Add the potato pieces and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently to ensure the potatoes do not catch and burn.

Stir in the pureed tomatoes and the remaining salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer and continue cooking for 3 minutes. At this point add the kokum water and stir to combine then bring back to a boil.
Now add the fried fish pieces to the mixture. If the sauce is too thick, add a little water. Blend the rice flour to a slurry with water and mix in with the fish curry. Return to a simmer and cook until the gravy has thickened to your liking.

Scatter over the chopped fresh coriander then take off the heat and serve.