Firm white fish cooks briefly in a spicy sauce made with ground mustard seeds, green chili and mustard oil. Serve with soft white rice, which soaks up the sharp, fragrant sauce beautifully.
Shorshe maach broadly means fish with mustard and is a well-known Bengali way of preparing fish. The sauce isn’t built around tomatoes or a long list of spices: mustard seeds, green chili, turmeric and mustard oil define its character. The ground mustard brings both heat and a slightly earthy, nutty flavor. Green chili adds an immediate kick; turmeric colors the sauce and gives it a gentle warmth. White rice isn’t an afterthought here: its neutral grains soak up the bold sauce beautifully.
To make the paste, the mustard seeds are first soaked briefly, then finely ground with water and chili. This makes them easier to work with and gives you a smoother mixture. A small blender or a mortar and pestle will both do the job; add only as much water as you need to grind the seeds. Yellow mustard seeds are milder, while brown or black seeds are sharper. A combination gives a pronounced flavor without making the paste simply bitter or hot. Let the sauce simmer gently after adding it. A hard, prolonged boil won’t improve the mustard: the fish needs only a few minutes to cook through and stay juicy.
Choose firm fish fillets that will hold together in large pieces, such as cod, pollock or hake. Cut the fillet into evenly sized pieces so they cook at roughly the same time, and stir gently once the fish is in the pan. Mustard oil has a distinctive aroma that belongs in this dish. Use oil that is suitable for cooking; if it isn’t available, neutral oil will also work, but the sauce will lose some of its characteristic fragrance. It’s best not to replace the mustard seeds with mustard from a jar alone: it has a different flavor and texture and won’t make the same sauce.
Serve the fish straight from the pan with white rice and spoon plenty of sauce over it. A simple vegetable on the side, such as boiled green beans or spinach, can round out the meal without competing with the mustard. Refrigerate leftovers, covered, within two hours and eat them within one to two days. Reheat the fish gently until piping hot all the way through; boiling it vigorously can make it dry. The rice can be stored separately and reheated until steaming hot.
Rinse the mustard seeds and soak them in warm water for 15 minutes. Drain. Rinse the rice until the water is almost clear.
Cut the fish into pieces of about 4 cm and rub them with ½ tsp salt. Grind the soaked mustard seeds with 1 green chili, the turmeric and 3–4 tbsp water to make a smooth paste.
Put the rice, 450 ml water and the remaining ½ tsp salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn the heat to low and cook, covered, for 10–12 minutes, or follow the package instructions. Remove from the heat and leave covered for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp mustard oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the mustard paste and 150 ml water. Stir and let the sauce simmer gently for 3 minutes.
Place the fish in the sauce and carefully turn the pieces so they are coated. Slice the second chili into thin rings and add it. Cook the fish over low heat for 5–7 minutes, depending on thickness, until just opaque and easy to flake.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir the remaining 1 tbsp mustard oil into the sauce. Serve with the white rice.
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