Fish in Mustard and Poppy Seed Gravy

This fish recipe is very dear to my heart and especially when it is from mom's kitchen.

This recipe is popularly known as Macha Besara. Macha means fish and Besara meaning mustard gravy.My love for fish is unending.This is a household recipe in Odisha and is prepared from a local fresh water fish called Rohu.Traditionally the masala for this curry is prepared by grinding poppy seeds and mustard seeds along with other spices in a mortar and pestle.
If you are visiting Odisha anytime,this is a highly recommended dish for all fish lovers.
Enjoy your fish curry.
Preparation Time - 60 minutes
Serves - 4
Ingredients
Fish - 4-5 pieces medium (I used Tilapia)
Onion - 1 Small
Tomato -1
Green Chilli -2
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 2.5 tsp
Poppy Seeds - 1 tbsp
Dry Red Chilli - 1
Garlic Cloves - 3
Turmeric Powder - 1.5 tsp
Curry Leaves - few
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking
Method of Preparation
1 Clean fish and pat dry with a paper towel.Rub turmeric powder and little salt on both sides of the fish.
Finely chop onions,tomato, slit the green chilli's.
On a skillet,dry roast the poppy seeds till they turn light brown in color.
Combine Mustard Seeds(2 tsp), Poppy Seeds, Cumin Seeds,Garlic Cloves and Red Dry Chilli and grind to make a good paste.(Add approximately 3 tbsp of water for grinding)
2 Take a Skillet and pour some oil on it. When the oil is hot fry the fish on both sides.Keep aside. Make sure that you only semi cook the fish.
3 Now take around 3 tsp of oil in a deep pan (kadhai), sputter 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add a pinch of turmeric powder to the oil.Now add the onions and fry till they look translucent.Also put the chopped tomatoes to it and fry till they are semi soft. Now add 3/4 cup water to this and cover it till the water comes to a boil (Takes approximately 5 minutes on medium heat). Slowly put the fried fish into this boiling water. Now add the masala prepared from mustard and poppy seeds on top of it. Simmer for 10 minutes on medium heat till the gravy reaches a desired consistency.

Garnish with little cilantro leaves if desired.
Serving Tips
Serve hot with rice.
Notes
Make sure the oil is hot before you fry the fish, else the fish will stick to the skillet and may break while turning it.Properly grind the mustard and poppy seeds. Also use water at room temperature to grind it as hot water makes the mustard seeds bitter. Cut the onion length wise for this specific recipe.
Variation
You may use any fish as per your taste for this recipe. For a more nutty taste use an additional spoon of poppy seeds.
Other Names
Poppy Seeds-Khus Khus,Posto,Kasakasa,Gasagasalu