Muri-Ghonto (Fish Head with Rice)

[Updated]

Folks from Bangladesh ensure that nothing from a fish goes to waste. Not only they don’t waste anything, they have the knack of turning them into delicious food. A great example is muri-ghonto. Its hard to believe how tasty fish head and bone become.

I made muri-ghonto last week. I served it cautiously to my daughter expecting her to not eat it. I was however, awarded with a 4-thumbs up, which involves her sitting down and giving me thumbs up with her hand and feet :)

Ingredients

1. 1 head of rohu / catla cleaned and cut into quarters / halves
2. 2 tbsp. of uncooked gobindo bhog / basamati rice washed and soaked in
   water for 30 mins.
3. 2 medium potatoes cut into quarters
4. 1 medium onion finely chopped
5. 3,4 green chilies slitted length wise
6. 1/2 tsp. garlic paste
7. 1/2 tsp. ginger paste
8. 2 + 1 tsp turmeric powder
9. 1 tsp. chili powder
10. 1/2 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
11. Whole garam masala ( 1' cinnamon, 2 green cardamom, 2,3 cloves )
12. 2,3 bay leaves
13. Oil
14. Ghee (Clarified butter )
15. Salt
16. Sugar

Procedure

Marinate fish head with 2 tsp. of turmeric and salt. Heat oil in a pan till smoky. Fry fish heads on medium heat till all sides become yellow. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Discard used oil.

Take fresh oil and temper with bay leaves and pounded whole garam masala. Wait till oil becomes fragrant. Now add chopped onion and slitted green chilies. Fry on medium heat till onion becomes light pink.

Add soaked rice to it and fry for 1-2 min. Next to go in are potatoes followed by ginger garlic paste. Add turmeric and chili powder. Fry potato pieces well with all spices. You can sprinkle little water if the spices tend to stick the bottom.

Add fried fish heads to it and give them a nice mix. Season with salt and sugar. Pour about 1/2 a cup of water and bring it to a boil on high flame. After it starts boiling reduce the heat and cook it covered till potatoes are cooked and there is no excess water left in the pan. Sprinkle garam masala powder and add a tsp. full of ghee to
finish.

This is best enjoyed with pain rice in a lazy afternoon.