Macher matha diye moong dal aka moong dal with fish head is a traditional Bengali moong dal recipe which is crazily popular among Bengalis. It is luscious, comforting, flavoured and in a nutshell, it is much more than a dal recipe for any Bengali. In this preparation, fried moong dal aka yellow lentils are boiled till al dente and then cooked with fried fish head and some specific spices. It is an asset of Bengali cuisine which is frequently prepared in Bengali households. This katla macher matha diye moong dal is always relished with plain rice along with sides like jhuri aloo bhaja, begun bhaja etc.
Table of Contents
About the recipe
Tips and Suggestions
How to make Macher matha diye Moong dal (step wise photos)
Recipe Card
What is Macher matha diye Bhaja Moong dal?
Macher matha diye bhaja moong dal is a Bengali dal recipe where ‘macher matha’ means ‘fish head’, ‘bhaja’ means ‘fried’ and ‘moong dal’ means ‘yellow lentils’.
For this Bengali dal recipe, first, the yellow lentils are dry roasted till golden brown until a nutty aroma comes out and then cooked till al dente. On the other hand, fish head is marinated with salt, turmeric powder and then fried in mustard oil. After that, the fried fish head is cooked with the boiled dal with ginger paste and some spices.
Bengalis are renowned for eating fish. Normally, in Bengali houses, they purchase whole fish and prepare different types of fish curries. They don’t even waste the fish head. In fact, fish head recipe is also as tasty as the fish if you know the correct recipes for it.
Fish head recipe
In Bengali recipe, fish head recipes play a vital role. On every occasion or celebration, Bengalis always make sure to prepare a fish recipe with the body and a separate dish with the fish heads. Macher matha diye dal, Muri Ghonto, Macher Matha diye Kochu Shak, Macher Matha Diye Moong Dal, Macher Matha Diye Begun, Macher Matha Diye Bandhakopi, Macher matha diye fulkopi and many more dishes are prepared with fish head in Bengali Cuisine.
Whenever I talk about macher matha diye moong dal, it always makes me feel nostalgic. As a bong, I have grown up eating this delicacy and have never gotten bored with it yet. I still remember how my mother used to prepare it and used to serve it with hot steamed rice and beguni and we used to devour that with immense pleasure. I have learned this traditional Bengali food recipe from her.
Macher matha diye moong dal is a simple and easy recipe. All the ingredients required to prepare the dish are easily available in any Bengali kitchen pantry. The difficulty level of cooking this dish is moderate.
Macher matha diye Moong dal ingredients
Moong dal: The primary component of the recipe. I have used the sona moong dal variety for the recipe but normal moong dal aka yellow lentils can also be used for the recipe.
Fish head: Another most important ingredient of the recipe which provides taste, texture and flavour to the dish.
Onion & tomato: The addition of onion enhances the taste and flavour of the dish.
Ginger & green chillies: The addition of ginger enhances the flavour of the dal and the addition of green chillies adds a heaty taste and refreshing flavour to the dish.
Mustard oil: Always use mustard oil to cook the recipe like any other traditional Bengali food. It enhances the taste and flavour of the dish.
Whole spices & hing: Add whole spices like bay leaf, dry red chilli, cloves, cinnamon stick, and green cardamom, cumin seeds into the oil for tempering. Then add hing aka asafoetida for tempering. These spices induce a nice aroma into the oil. So, try not to skip any of these whole spices.
Ground spices: Other than whole spices, I have used ground spices – turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, Bengali garam masala powder for the recipe. All the spices help to develop a nice flavour and taste in the dish.
Ghee aka clarified butter: It is another primary ingredient added at the final stage of cooking. It can also be prepared with oil but ghee enhances the taste and flavour of the dish.
Sugar: It adds a mild sweetness to the dish and enhances the taste.
Salt: The most important ingredient which adds saltiness to the dish.
Water: Water is used to cook the roasted moong dal and to adjust the final consistency of the dal.
Macher matha diye moong dal with step-by-step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section. If you follow the steps carefully, you will get the perfect flavoured and moong dal with fish head. But before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share a few interesting facts about the recipe.
Tips to prepare perfect Macher matha diye Bhaja Moong dal
- Make sure scaling, cleaning and washing of the fish head is done properly.
- Always cut the fish head at least into four pieces. It is very tough to cook the whole fish head. Either it may not get cooked from inside or you need to pour a huge amount of oil to cook it properly.
- Always marinate the fish head with turmeric powder and salt at least for 10 minutes for the best result.
- Deep fry the fish head separately before adding it to the dal.
- Always use mustard oil to fry the fish head and to cook the Bengali dal recipe. This is the ancient secret behind the outstanding taste of Bengali fish preparations. You can never get the same taste with any other oil other than mustard oil.
- Dry roast the moong dal over medium flame till golden brown and stir it continuously for even roasting. Always use mustard oil to cook moong dal recipe. It gives a better flavour to the dish.
- Boil the dal till al dente and not mushy for perfect consistency. Try to cook the dal in a pot rather than a pressure cooker for perfect consistency.
- Don’t skip the whole spices from the recipe. It induces a nice aroma into the oil.
- You can adjust the amount of green chillies and red chilli powder according to your own choice.
- Don’t skip the Bengali garam masala powder and ghee from the recipe. It gives authentic Bengali flavour to the dish.
How to make Macher matha diye Moong dal?
To prepare the macher matha diye moong dal, first, take a dry pan and dry roast the moong dal over medium flame till a nutty aroma comes out and the colour of the dal changes to golden brown. Stir it continuously. Then wash the dal in running water, soak it for at least half an hour and drain the water.
In the meantime, clean the fish head (Macher Matha). You can use other big fish heads, but Rohu or Katla fish heads work best for the recipe. Then marinate the fish head with salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and keep it aside for at least 20-30 minutes.
Take a pan and allow it to become completely dry. Then add mustard oil and wait until the oil is hot. Add the marinated fish head into the pan and fry them evenly. Strain the fish headpieces and keep them aside.
In the same pan, add whole spices – bay leaf, dry red chillies, cloves, cinnamon stick, cardamoms, cumin seeds, hing aka asafoetida and let them crackle.
Add chopped onions to the pan and fry them on a medium flame for 7-8 minutes.
Add tomato chunks, green chillies and give a nice mix. Cover the pan and cook it in the lowest flame until the tomatoes get mushy.
In the meantime, take a bowl and add ginger paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and some water into it. Make a paste of the spices and add it to the pan. Cook it in low flame for another couple of minutes until the raw smell goes away.
Add the fried fish head and give a nice mix. Cover the pan and cook it over low flame for 2 minutes.
Then add the boiled dal into the pan. Add salt, sugar into the pan and give a nice mix.
Add water to the pan and give a stir. Turn the flame high until the dal starts boiling. Then turn the flame to low and cook for 3-4 minutes.
The consistency of the moong dal with fish head is neither too thick nor too runny. But you can prepare it according to your own preference.
At the final stage of cooking, add Bengali garam masala and ghee (clarified butter), one by one into the pan. These spices complement the flavour of the dish very well.
Check the salt of the dal and add if required. Simmer the gravy for 10-15 more seconds and then switch off the flame.
Many fish head recipes have already been shared in my previous post. You can check a few of them like
Muri Ghonto
Macher matha diye bandhakopi
Aar macher matha diye begun
Ilish macher matha diye kochu shaak
..And Many more…
Ingredients:
To marinate the fish head
- 1 Rohu or Katla fish head (Macher Matha), cut into 4 pieces
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon red Chilli powder
To cook the dal
- 1 cup Moong dal aka yellow lentils
- 4 cups Water
- 1 teaspoon Salt
For the spice paste
- 1 tablespoon Ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ¾ teaspoon red Chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon Cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon Coriander powder
- 2 tablespoons Water
Other ingredients for macher matha diye moong dal
- 1 medium Onion, finely chopped
- 1 Tomato, deseeded and diced
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 3 Cardamoms (Elaichi)
- 4 Cloves (Laung)
- 1-inch Cinnamon stick (Dalchini)
- 1 Bay leaf (Tejpatta)
- 2 dry red Chillies
- ¼ teaspoon Hing aka asafoetida
- ½ teaspoon Bengali Garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon Ghee (Clarified butter)
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- Salt to taste
- 1 cup Water to adjust the consistency of the dal
- ¼ cup Mustard oil for cooking
Instructions:
- First, take a pan and let it become completely dry. Add 1 cup moong dal into the pan and dry roast it over medium-low flame for 4-5 minutes until the nutty aroma comes up from the dal and the colour changes from yellow to golden brown.
- Transfer the dal to a separate utensil and wash the dal once. Then soak the dal in water for an hour. Then drain the water and keep it aside.
- Transfer the soaked dal to a pan and add 4 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Give a small gentle stir. Note: Don’t stir the dal too much or else the dal will not get cooked.
- Cook the dal over medium flame for 25-30 minutes till al dente and not mushy. Discard the white foam in between with the help of a spoon. Keep the cooked dal aside.
- Wash the fish head thoroughly and cut them into four pieces. Marinate fish head with 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon red chilli powder, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder. Keep it aside for at least 20-30 minutes.
- Put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Then add 3 tablespoons mustard oil into the pan and wait until the oil is hot.
- Deep fry the fish head over medium flame from each side evenly until the fish head becomes crispy and golden brown. It takes around 10-12 minutes to fry the fish headpieces.
Tip: Fish heads tend to splatter oil while frying. I would recommend using a splatter guard to avoid any accidents. - Strain the fish head pieces on a separate plate. Break them into pieces and keep them aside.
- In the same pan, add whole spices -1 bay leaf, 1-2 dry red chillies, 4 cloves, 1-inch cinnamon stick, 3 cardamoms, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ¼ teaspoon hing and let them crackle.
- Add chopped onions to the pan and fry them on a medium flame for 8-10 minutes.
- Add tomato chunks, 2-3 green chillies and give a nice mix. Cover the pan and cook it on low flame for 5-6 minutes until the tomatoes get mushy.
- In the meantime, take a bowl and add 1 tablespoon of ginger paste, 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder, ¾ teaspoon of red chilli powder, 1 teaspoon of cumin powder, 1 teaspoon of coriander powder and 2 tablespoons of water. Mix it thoroughly and make a paste of the spices.
- Add the masala paste to the pan and mix it well. Cook it in low flame for another 2-3 minutes so that the masala can get cooked properly.
- Add the fried fish head into the pan and give a nice mix. Cover the pan and cook it over low flame for 2 minutes.
- Add the boiled dal to the pan.
- Add salt, 1 teaspoon sugar into the pan and give a nice mix.
- Add 1 cup water to the pan and stir. Turn the flame high until the dal starts boiling. Then turn the flame to low and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Note: The consistency of the dal is neither too thick nor too runny. But you can prepare it according to your own preference. - Add ½ teaspoon Bengali garam masala powder and 1 teaspoon ghee (clarified butter), one by one into the pan and give a nice mix.
- Simmer the dal in high flame for another 10-15 more seconds and check the salt before switching off the flame. Add more if required and mix it well. Then switch off the flame.
Serving Instruction
Transfer the macher matha diye moong dal into a serving bowl or on a serving plate. Serve hot or warm to enjoy its best taste. Pair up the comfort food with hot rice with roasted papad, begun bhaja or jhuri aloo bhaja.
Ingredients
1 cup = 250 ml
To marinate the fish head
- 1 Rohu or Katla fish head (Macher Matha), cut into 4 pieces
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon red Chilli powder
To cook the dal
- 1 cup Moong dal aka yellow lentils
- 4 cups Water
- 1 teaspoon Salt
For the spice paste
- 1 tablespoon Ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ¾ teaspoon red Chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon Cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon Coriander powder
- 2 tablespoons Water
Other ingredients for macher matha diye moong dal
- 1 medium Onion, finely chopped
- 1 Tomato, deseeded and diced
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 3 Cardamoms (Elaichi)
- 4 Cloves (Laung)
- 1-inch Cinnamon stick (Dalchini)
- 1 Bay leaf (Tejpatta)
- 2 dry red Chillies
- ¼ teaspoon Hing aka asafoetida
- ½ teaspoon Bengali Garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon Ghee (Clarified butter)
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- Salt to taste
- 1 cup Water to adjust the consistency of the dal
- ¼ cup Mustard oil for cooking
Instructions
- First, take a pan and let it become completely dry. Add 1 cup moong dal into the pan and dry roast it over medium-low flame for 4-5 minutes until the nutty aroma comes up from the dal and the colour changes from yellow to golden brown.
- Transfer the dal to a separate utensil and wash the dal once. Then soak the dal in water for an hour. Then drain the water and keep it aside.
- Transfer the soaked dal to a pan and add 4 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Give a small gentle stir. Note: Don’t stir the dal too much or else the dal will not get cooked.
- Cook the dal over medium flame for 25-30 minutes till al dente and not mushy. Discard the white foam in between with the help of a spoon. Keep the cooked dal aside.
- Wash the fish head thoroughly and cut them into four pieces. Marinate fish head with 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon red chilli powder, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder. Keep it aside for at least 20-30 minutes.
- Put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Then add 3 tablespoons mustard oil into the pan and wait until the oil is hot.
- Deep fry the fish head over medium flame from each side evenly until the fish head becomes crispy and golden brown. It takes around 10-12 minutes to fry the fish headpieces. Tip: Fish heads tend to splatter oil while frying. I would recommend using a splatter guard to avoid any accidents.
- Strain the fish head pieces on a separate plate. Break them into pieces and keep them
- In the same pan, add whole spices -1 bay leaf, 1-2 dry red chillies, 4 cloves, 1-inch cinnamon stick, 3 cardamoms, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ¼ teaspoon hing and let them crackle.
- Add chopped onions to the pan and fry them on a medium flame for 8-10 minutes.
- Add tomato chunks, 2-3 green chillies and give a nice mix. Cover the pan and cook it on low flame for 5-6 minutes until the tomatoes get mushy.
- In the meantime, take a bowl and add 1 tablespoon of ginger paste, 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder, ¾ teaspoon of red chilli powder, 1 teaspoon of cumin powder, 1 teaspoon of coriander powder and 2 tablespoons of water. Mix it thoroughly and make a paste of the spices.
- Add the masala paste to the pan and mix it well. Cook it in low flame for another 2-3 minutes so that the masala can get cooked properly.
- Add the fried fish head into the pan and give a nice mix. Cover the pan and cook it over low flame for 2 minutes.
- Add the boiled dal to the pan.
- Add salt, 1 teaspoon sugar into the pan and give a nice mix.
- Add 1 cup water to the pan and stir. Turn the flame high until the dal starts boiling. Then turn the flame to low and cook for 3-4 minutes. Note: The consistency of the dal is neither too thick nor too runny. But you can prepare it according to your own preference.
- Add ½ teaspoon Bengali garam masala powder and 1 teaspoon ghee (clarified butter), one by one into the pan and give a nice mix.
- Simmer the dal in high flame for another 10-15 more seconds and check the salt before switching off the flame. Add more if required and mix it well. Then switch off the flame.
