CELEBRATION WITH FISH IN SPINACH & MUSTARD GRAVY

Celebrating what you may ask....well am finally going home. Yahoo..!!!! am all set for fun filled 2 weeks, just counting the days now :) . Since the last 2 weeks I was at a fix cause there was a high chance that my leave would be rejected and I spent most of the time shedding tears. Its been 3 years that I have visited my home so you can imagine how I was feeling when nothing seemed to be working. Finally by the end of this week I got the great news and I have been thrilled since then , of course fingers are crossed as we never know when things can change :) . I am so excited to be with my family....enjoy 'direct' talks with Mom, spend time bugging Dad...which is super fun, share stories with cousins and definitely relax and enjoy all those lovely home cooked meals. My ever growing to-do list is ready, well not just to-do ---- there are to-eat list , to-shop list , to-visit list....and many many more. The news of my leave being approved is something worth celebrating and today I partied with Fish in Spinach & Mustard Gravy. I consider it to be a very festive dish as its part of my families party food and is created  during very special occasions. The last time I had it was when I went to my ancestral home for my aunt's wedding and that was some 10 years back approximately. The fish used for this dish is 'Boal' commonly known as Wallago in English, I could not get the fish here so I used Rohu......I know the 2 fishes taste totally different but as its said Necessity is the Mother of Invention :P . Also the original version uses 'Lai Pata' (not sure of the English name) its a very loved green leafy vegetable in North-Eastern India, I have not seen it anywhere else so I could not find 'Lai Pata' as well so I used Spinach. As expected the flavour of my variation is way too different from the original however it was not bad and I enjoyed the day. I promise to come back with loads of new stories and recipes. When I am back, will share more on  the beauty of my hometown through my eyes...keep waiting, hope you would love them :) .

Rohu Fish pieces	4 numbers
Spinach	1 bunch
Mustard seeds	2 tablespoon
Sesame seeds (optional)	1 tablespoon
Green Chilly	1 numbers
Fresh Red Chilly	2 numbers
Nigella seeds	1 teaspoon
Dry Red Chilly	2 numbers
Turmeric powder	1/2 teaspoon
Mustard Oil	2-3 tablespoons
Salt	As per taste

1. Roughly chop the spinach and set aside.
2. Soak the mustard seeds and sesame seeds in luke warm water. 
3. Marinate the fish pieces with a little turmeric powder , salt and a few drops of oil.
4. Blend the mustard seeds , sesame seeds and one green chilly with little water till it forms a smooth paste.
5. Heat oil in a kadhai(a cooking utensil that resembles a wok), and shallow fry the fish pieces. They should not be over done.
6. Remove the fish in a paper towel. The oil in the kadhai is used for the gravy.
7. In the kadhai, add nigella seed and dried red chilly, as it start spattering add the smooth paste and cook.
8. As the oil start separating out, add warm water , fresh red chilly and chopped spinach. Cover and cook in low flame.
9. After 5 min, add the fried fish pieces. Add salt as per taste and cover again. Cook for 7-8 min.
10. Uncover and cook for 10 min more so that excess water is evaporated.

I had a great celebration with a dish that reminds of home, now time to start packing the bags .