Bengali Biyebari Style Doi Maach (Doi Katla) recipe

This is an Old Bengali biye bari style Doi Maach(doi katla) recipe, a traditional Bengali yoghurt fish curry. Simply delicious, not spicy, easy to cook and with a quick preparation time. Old Bengali biye bari style doi maach made with katla (catla) or rohu (rui) fish, yoghurt, onion, ginger, garlic, green chilli, tomato and a blend of a few aromatic Indian spices. This dish is deliciously paired with piping hot rice, especially with fragrant basmati rice love to have some more. Making it simply finger-licking good that I can not control my food intake. Today, in this post, I have also shared a few still photos, including a simple cooking video of this dish for your reference.

To prepare Bengali biye bari style doi maach, first, marinate the fish slices with salt & turmeric powder. Then deep fry the fish in mustard oil. Roast a paste of onion, ginger, garlic, tomato, green chilli, cinnamon, cloves & cardamom in the same oil with whisked yoghurt, dry ground spices, salt & sugar. Roast the spices until they release oil. Add a little water to make a gravy. Once the gravy starts boiling, cook the fish in it at low heat for 8-10 minutes. Results in a red, rich, flavorful doi maach with oil floats on top of the gravy.

About Doi maach recipe

Doi maach, “Doi” is a Bengali term, English meaning plain yogurt (known as dahi/curd in India and tok doi in Bengali), and “Maach” meaning fish (Only Rui / katla fish slices) in English.

Doi maach recipe, originally from the Bengali rich communities’ biye barir menu of undivided Bengal (meaning when not divided into West Bengal and Bangladesh). This fish curry has become a favourite among all Bengali fish lovers. Later, Bengali people began making this fish curry in their kitchens to celebrate special occasions, such as Poila Boishak or Jamai Shosthi.

Bengali Doi maach is also called Dahi Maachchli or Dahi Machchi in Hindi, and the same recipe is commonly known as Dahi machha in Odia cuisine. So, whoever is searching for Dahi Maachchli, Dahi Machchi or Odia Dahi machha recipe can try this Bengali fish curry at home. I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Doi maach also looks very tempting for its rich colour, and a thick layer of oil entirely covers the whole gravy. This thick oily gravy does not seem good for health, but do not worry the oil released by cooking the yoghurt not using too much oil.

Main criteria to make the best doi maach in town

1. For making the best doi maach, first choose a big-sized fresh good quality rui or katla fish(at least a minimum weight of 1.8 kg). Make thick slices of the fish around 80 to 100 gms. Avoid using the fish that have eggs.

2. Marinate the fish with turmeric and salt.

3. Fry in oil until golden brown on both sides.

4. Then gently simmer the fish in a creamy, flavoursome sauce made of a smooth blend of onion, ginger, garlic, tomato, garam masala & yoghurt.

5. You only need to know exactly how long you have to roast the masala in oil to fetch the same scrumptiousness and texture we found in the Bengali Biye barir doi maach recipe.

6. Roast the spices until they release oil.

7. Cook the fish in gravy until the fish is soft & infused with the spices. That is it.

Do not fry the fish until crisp. Or else, the crispy skin of fish does not allow the masala to easily get into the flesh. As a result, fish would not get soft and flavourful.

From novice to bachelor, any Indian can cook this fish curry at home with ease. Here, all basic ingredients are used generally, which are available in Indian pantries. No need for any fancy ingredients. To make this recipe easier and faster, I prepare the masala paste together in just one time blending, which saves my time and energy. Even though there is no need for extra whisking for yoghurt.

Seems yoghurt makes this fish curry sour, but this dish does not taste sour, due to maintaining a perfect balance of sugar and salt.

Hope you like this Bengali Biyebari style doi maach recipe. My step-by-step detailed method & instructions must help you make this Bengali fish curry recipe with ease. 

Have a look at other Common & exotic Bengali rui katla macher recipes

Biyebari Style Macher Kalia recipe

Jeere Bata Diye Patla Maacher jhol recipe

Alu Phulkopi Diye Macher jhol recipe

Check my other popular Bengali fish curry recipes

Shorshe Pabda recipe

Pomfret Maacher jhal

Bhetki Macher Paturi

Recipe card for Bengali Biyebari Style Doi Maach (Doi Katla) recipe

Bengali Biyebari Style Doi Maach (Doi Katla) recipe

Recipe by Moumita PaulCourse: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: Bengali, IndianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

7

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Total time

35

minutes

A simply delicious yet not spicy, quick and easy to cook Old Bengali biye bari style Doi Maach(doi katla) recipe with katla (catla) fish, yoghurt, onion, ginger, garlic, tomato, garam masala and a blend of a few aromatic Indian spices. This dish perfectly goes with steamed rice, Basmati rice, Bengali fried rice, or Basanti Pulao.

Ingredients of Doi maach

• 500 gram Katla Maach /Rui Maach (thick fish slices )

• 1/2 tsp Tumeric Powder

• 1/2 tsp Salt

• 2 Medium Onions (paste)

• 1/2 inch Ginger

• 8 Garlic Cloves

• 3 Green Chillies

• 1 Medium Tomato

• 1/2 inch Cinnamon Stick

• 3 Cardamom Pods

• 3/4 teaspoon Cumin Powder

• 1/4 teaspoon Coriander Powder

• 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder

• 1+1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder

• 1/2 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder

• 8-10 Black peppercorns

• 6 tbsp Curd/ Tok DOI/Dahi/ Yoghurt

• 8-10 tablespoon Mustard Oil

• 2 teaspoons Sugar (as per taste)

• 1/2 tsp Garam Masala Powder (Homemade / Store bought)

• Salt (As per taste)

Method

• Preparation
• First, take the fish in a bowl, clean and thoroughly wash and then pat them dry.
• Next, marinate the fish with 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder and 1/2 tsp of salt.
• To prepare the masala, first blend 2 skin-out onions (cut into cubes) until get a smooth paste.
  
• Also, blend ginger, garlic, green chillies, tomatoes, and garam masala (cinnamon stick, cardamom) with the onion paste.
• Then add cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder, regular spicy chilli powder, and whole black peppercorn (optional) in the blender and blend them well.
• Lastly, add the yoghurt to the blender and blend it well until you get a creamy, sauce-like masala puree. 
• Cooking
• Heat the pan, add oil. Once the oil releases smoke, gently place the fish steaks in hot oil one by one and fry them.
  
• Do not overcrowd the pan; keep a minimum space between the fish steaks. 
• Fry the fish until both sides get a golden texture. Remove the fish from the pan & keep it aside.
• Add masala puree in the same pan, and add moshla dhoa’r jol (1/2 cup of water mixed with the leftover masala in the blender) too. Stir it well.
• Once the masala starts boiling then add sugar(sugar balances the sourness of yoghurt).
• Once the gravy gets almost dry and releases oil from all of its sides, then add water (2 cups or about 500 ml). In the meantime, add 1/2 tsp of salt and bring the gravy to a boil.
• In the meantime, add 1/2 tsp of salt and bring the gravy to a boil.
• Once the gravy starts boiling, add the fried fish steaks to the gravy and gently stir.
• Then slow down the heat, cover the pan with a tight lid and cook for 5-6 minutes.
• After 5-6 minutes of cooking, gently turn the fish pieces
  
• Again, cover the pan and cook for 5-6 more minutes.
• After the last 5-6 minutes of cooking, check the salt & sugar according to your taste. Add a little salt & sugar if required. Stir it well.
• Add garam masala powder, gently stir the gravy, and turn off the heat.
  
• Immediately cover the pan and let the aroma of garam masala infuse into the gravy and the fish as well.
• Bengali Biyebari style delicious doi maach is ready. Serve it with piping hot white rice, Bengali fried rice, or Basanti Pulao.

Notes

• If you are using a small blending jar, then take the onion paste & then paste the other ingredients. Otherwise, there is a high chance that to masala will overflow while blending.
• How to know oil is perfectly hot instead of releasing smoke, When bubbles over the oil disappear also indicates oil is perfectly hot for frying fish.
• Fish never stick to the pan while frying. Whether in an iron Kadai or steel-made pan, if the first pan is perfectly heating up, then oil.
• Novice (Beginners) or Bachelor’s try to use a nonstick pan if worried about frying the fish without sticking to the pan.
• Roast the Masala until the oil floats over the masala gravy.
• Don’t fry the fish immediately; take it out of the fridge, and keep it at room temperature first.
• After washing the fish Novice (Beginners) or Bachelor must pat it dry to avoid existing water with the fish & have a high chance of spluttering hot oil.

How to make Doi Maach with step by step pictures

Preparation

• First, take the fish in a bowl, clean and thoroughly wash them.
• Then pat the fish with a kitchen towel until dry.
• Then marinate the fish with turmeric powder and salt.

• Now prepare the masala, first blend 2 skin-out onions until you get a smooth paste.

• Then blend ginger, garlic, green chillies, tomato, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods & cloves with the onion paste.

• Then add cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder, chilli powder, and whole black peppercorns (optional) to the blender.
• Blend them well.

• Lastly, add the yoghurt to the blender and blend it well until you get a smooth & creamy masala puree. 

For Frying fish

• Heat the pan on medium to high heat. Once the pan releases smoke.
• Add oil, once the oil also releases smoke, then gently place the fish steaks in hot oil one by one & fry.

• Do not overcrowd the pan. Keep a minimum space between the fish steaks. Otherwise, they will stick to each other and break while turning. 
• Fry the fish until both sides get a golden brown texture.
• Remove the fish from the pan & keep them aside.

Making Doi Maach Gravy

• Add the masala paste to the same pan.
• Then add moshla dhoa’r jol (1/2 cup of water mixed with the leftover masala in the blender) too.
• Stir it well.

• Once the masala starts boiling and slightly dries up, add sugar (I used 2 tsp sugar) to balance the sourness of the yoghurt.

• Let the gravy almost dry off and release oil from all of its sides.
• Then add 2 cups (500 ml) of water.
• In the meantime, add 1/2 tsp salt and bring the gravy to a boil.

• Once the gravy starts boiling.

• Add the fried fish to the gravy and gently stir it in.
• Then slow down the heat, cover the pan with a tight lid and cook it for 5-6 minutes.

• After 5-6 minutes of cooking, gently turn the fish steaks. Now the fish is very soft and delicate, so do it carefully, otherwise the fish can break into pieces.
• Then again, cover the pan and cook for next 5-6 more minutes.
• After the last 5-6 minutes of cooking, check that the salt & sugar are perfect according to your taste.
• Add a little salt & sugar if required and stir well.

• Add 1/2 tsp garam masala powder, gently stir and mix with the gravy.
• Do it carefully so that the fish does not break into pieces.
• Then turn off the heat.
• Immediately cover the pan to infuse the aroma of garam masala into the gravy.

• Bengali Biyebari style delicious doi maach is ready. Serve it with piping hot white rice, Bengali fried rice, or Basanti Pulao.

Pro tips for making Bengali Biyebari Style Best Doi Maach recipe

Perfect fish weight for making Bengali Dahi fish recipe?

Fish weight does matter to make a perfect biyebari style doi maach recipe. At least a minimum weight of 1.8 kg of fresh Katla / Rui (meaning any Paka Pona maach) is required for this recipe to get close to biye barir taste. Here I used a 2 kg 250 g catla fish. How heavy weight fish you will use, the taste will be best accordingly.

Which fish is best to use in this Doi fish recipe?

In Biye bari, Doi Maach is generally cooked with Katla maach. However, in Bengali restaurants, big-size Rui /Rohu fish is also used to make this fish curry. So you can use Katla or rui any one for making this doi fish curry recipe.

What kind of Yogurt is used in this Bengali fish curry?

Try to use fresh yogurt (known as Indian curd / Bengali tok doi). Fresh yoghurt is not tangy, but rather gives a creamy texture and keeps a balance of taste. Whether with thick or light consistency does not count.

Why Mustard oil is important for cooking doi maach recipe

Mustard oil was common in Bengali food pantries for ages so no Bengali curry including fish curry ever prepared without mustard oil. As this biyebari style fish curry is a traditional fish curry of Bengal so mustard oil is also a prime ingredient for exact taste and flavour. However, for a healthy reason or due to unavailability, you can replace mustard oil with any vegetable oil which suits you best.

How long to roast the masala for making doi maach?

Masala needs to roast in oil until masala leaves oil from its sides. Masala floats on the roasted masala gravy, which indicates the masala was roasted well.

Is sugar mandatory for making this Bengali-style dahi maachli recipe?

Must use sugar to balance the tanginess of dahi, do not worry sugar does not make the fish or this whole dish sweet in taste. 2 tsp full sugar I used to balance the tanginess of the yogurt. More or less sugar is used according to how sour the yogurt is.

Role of Tomato in this Bengali doi fish recipe

Tomato is optional in making any fish curry recipe if the fish curry is cooked with tok doi / dahi / curd. Tomato just used to enhance the taste & texture as well. However, leave it to think of such traditional recipes prepared without tomatoes as a non-abundance of this veggie all through the year.

What is the right consistency for this doi fish gravy?

A thick & creamy gravy is a sign of perfect biyebari’r doi fish curry. To beat the taste must look over the consistency of this fish gravy.

Why Garam masala add-on for this doi fish recipe?

Garam masala is a key ingredient of this exotic fish curry. Here garam masala is used twice to uplift the taste along with taking your tastebud to the old day’s Bengali biyebarir doi maach recipe.