Rui or Katla Macher Kalia recipe – Bengali Style Fish Kalia recipe with step-by-step detail

Cook Rui or Katla Macher Kalia recipe at home with easy step-by-step detail. Macher Kalia is a spicy yet delicious Bengali Rui or Katla fish curry.

Rui or Katla Macher Kalia is a most popular Bengali fish curry that originally came from Bengali biye barir food menu. For making biye barir style macher kalia, best to choose heavyweight matured rui (rohu)/ katla fish (catla carp), cut into thick and big pieces for having a thick fat portion under the skin of each fish piece. Due to not using heavyweight matured rui or katla fish our homemade macher kalia never tastes like biye barir macher kalia recipe.

For making Rui or Katla Macher Kalia, first Rui or Katla fish pieces are marinated with salt and turmeric powder. Then fry the fish, and make gravy by roasting onion, ginger, garlic, tomato, green chilli paste with whisked yoghurt, cumin powder and red chilli powder. Cook the fish into the spices and cook until the gravy gets quite dry and oil appears on the top. Lastly, end the cooking by sprinkling the garam masala in the fish curry.

Along with piping hot steamed rice, macher kalia is the most unbeatable combination for any Bengali (who loves eating fish) and suits the Bengali term “Machh- E- Bhat-E- Bangali“. However, can eat it with Basanti pulao or Bengali vegetable pulao too.

Macher Kalia is nothing but an old spicy Bengali fish curry, in one word, kalia is an exotic recipe of Rui or Katla macher jhal. In spite of being exotic, this dish can be easily made from scratch with simple spices available in every Indian kitchen.

Generally, Kalia is prepared with Bengali pona mach (Rui or Katla fish), however, I mostly make this recipe with Katla fish of at least 1 kg to 1.5 kg. As with the same weight of Katla and rui, I feel katla tastes better than rui. Though it depends on personal choice, if you like rui must go with rui, no problem.

The taste of Kalia does not only depend on the spices used in this recipe but also depends on the taste of the fish. To make the best fish kalia must use more than 5 kg weight rui or katla fish. As for making this fish kalia, today I used 8-9 kg weight katla machh.  That biggest rui or katla is known as Paka Pona Maach available in every Bengali fish market.

However, heavy-weight Rui or Katla fish is basically used in making Bengali Biye Bari, Annoprashon or Poite Barir Macher Kalia recipe which makes this fish curry scrumptious. However, if you often cook Kalia at home, try to use live(jyanto) or good quality fish that suits best your health.

Even unflavoured yoghurt (or Indian curd) & tomato are 2 more most important ingredients to make fish Kalia. Curd & tomato both are generally used by professional Bengali cooks, to make the gravy rich, and creamy & bring a delicious taste as well. 

If you are bored with regular bengali fish curry then must try this traditional & exotic finger-licking rui or katla macher kalia recipe. No matter whether you are a Beginner or a Bachelor, my step-by-step recipe detail (with pictures) and tips described at the end of this recipe surely guide you to make a perfect kalia recipe.

But do not forget to let me know your valuable feedback about this dish.

Other than this fish kalia you can try some other Bengali fish curry recipes from my website. The list is given below,

Doi Maach recipe (Biye Bari Style)

Aloo diye Shol macher jhal jhol

Pabda Macher Sorse Jhal

Pomfret Macher Jhal

Chital macher peti kaliya

Tel koi (Koi macher recipe)

Chingri macher Malai curry

Kolkata patai Bhetki Macher Paturi (in banana leaf)

Aloo phulkopi bori diye winter time katla macher jhol (without Onion)

Alu jhinge danta jeera ada bata diye katla macher patla jhol (without Onion garlic)

Recipe card of Rui or Katla Macher Kalia recipe (with rohu/ catla fish)

How to make Rui or Katla Macher Kalia recipe (with step-by-step detailed pictures)

Step 1: Smear or marinate the fish with turmeric and salt

• Clean & wash the fish pcs, drain the water well.
• Then smear the fish with 3/4 tsp salt & 1/2 tsp turmeric. As shown in the pic below.

Step 2: Fry the fish in mustard oil

• Heat the pan, add 7-8 tbsp (that means around 1/2 US cup) mustard oil, and heat the oil until releases smoke.
• Fish goes into hot oil, and fry it until golden from both sides. Remove the fish from the pan.

Step 3: Make the gravy of Kalia

Fry onion

• Add 2 bay leaves to the pan, little fry.
• Then add 1 sliced onion(medium size), and fry until soft, succulent & golden.

Roast the masala in oil

• Then add the masala paste (contains 1 medium onion, 1 tomato(medium), 1/2 inch(5 g) ginger, 7 garlic cloves & 5 green chillies).
• Mix the masala with fried onion, and sauté for a few seconds.

• Then add 3/4 tsp cumin powder, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, 3/4 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder.
• Then add 1/2 tsp turmeric & 1/2 tsp salt, and mix them well.

Add curd & garam masala

• Afterward, add 1/4 tsp garam masala powder.
• Then add 2 tbsp curd/unflavoured yoghurt/tok doi(beat well before use) and 1/2 tsp sugar. Mix well.

Pour water into the gravy

• Cook the masalas until leave oil & release the aroma.
• Then add 1+1/2 cups of water.

Step 4: Cook the fish in gravy

• Let the gravy boil, after 1 min of boiling, add the fried fish to the gravy.
• Slow down the flame & cover the pan for 5 mins.

• After 5 mins, remove the lid and turn the fish, again cover the pan.

• After 3-4 mins of cooking, add 1/8 tsp of garam masala powder and 1 tsp of ghee kalia gravy.
• Mix it well. Cook it for 1 more minute. Turn off the heat.

• Mouthwatering Katla Macher Kalia is ready, serve along with piping hot rice and enjoy your meal.

Simple notes about Rui or Katla Macher Kalia recipe

• To avoid the fatty part of the fish, good to make kalia with jyanto rui or katla machh, whose weight is around 1.5 kg-1.8 kg.
• Now the question is, does Ghee mandatory for making this recipe? The answer is no, ghee is not mandatory in kalia however I use it to enhance the taste & aroma. Though you can make it without ghee.
• You must have noticed, here I used little sugar while making the gravy. Use sugar to balance the sourness of curd & tomato in the gravy otherwise, that can make the gravy tangy. Though if you prefer the tanginess skip adding sugar.