Ingredients:

• 250 g -dried fish (‘hogada’)
• 125 g -‘Hak’ (‘karam sag’) or ‘bum’
• 1/2 cup -mustard oil
• 1 tsp -red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp -salt
• 1/2 tsp -turmeric
• 1 pinch -asafoetida
• 10 g – ‘vari masala’ or 1/2 tsp -garam masala

Method:

1. Cut the fins of dried Z1fish and scrape clean.
2. Roast on a smokeless flame, or on live charcoals.
3. Then wash and clean in hot water twice or thrice, and cut into pieces.
4. Sort the ‘hak’ leaves, after discarding coarse stems, withered portions, and wash.
5. If ‘bum’ is to be cooked with dried fish, cut into 3 inch or 4 inch length, and soak in hot water for 1/2 an hour before cooking.
6. Squeeze out extra water by hand.
7. In a kadai, heat oil on medium flame, and when the foam disappears, add half a litre of water, salt, turmeric, chilli powder and asafoetida.
8. Bring to boil and add prepared dried fish pieces and sorted ‘hak’ leaves or the prepared ‘bum’.
9. Turn and stir with a ladle and cook for half an hour, to soften the fish and the ‘hak’ or ‘bum’.
10. Then add crushed ‘vari masala’ or ‘garam masala’.
11. Serve with plain cooked rice.

Recipe courtesy of Priscilla Farro