Bangladeshi river fish (desi mach)
"Mache bhate Bangali" goes the saying: fish and rice make a Bengali. For anyone living in Germany, it's often the small river fish of home that they miss most, so we keep a wide range of… 7 Products
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Bangladeshi river fish (desi mach)
"Mache bhate Bangali" goes the saying: fish and rice make a Bengali. For anyone living in Germany, it's often the small river fish of home that they miss most, so we keep a wide range of desi mach, much of it already scaled, gutted and frozen in blocks.
You'll find pabda, the delicate butter catfish behind countless pabda jhol recipes, and koi (climbing perch, anabas), which traditionally becomes tel koi in mustard oil. Magur, the yellow catfish, comes whole, as steaks or as head pieces, alongside shing, tengra, shol (snakehead), boal, puti and shorputi, bata, bele, bashpata and the tiny mola and keski. For a curry with fewer bones there are tilapia and pangas steaks and fillets, and for bold flavours there's dried magur shutki.
Bigger fish have their own pages: rohu and catla and of course hilsa. Everything else for a Bengali fish supper, from mustard oil to panch phoron and chinigura rice, lives in Bengali groceries.
Handling small river fish
Frozen blocks don't separate easily, so decide how much you need and thaw the whole block in the fridge. Many species come cleaned already; for magur and shing, rub the skin with coarse salt to remove the slime and rinse well.
- Coat the fish with turmeric and salt and leave it for 10 minutes.
- Fry delicate fish such as pabda and tengra for just 1–2 minutes per side in mustard oil, then lay them in the sauce and stir as little as possible.
- Koi and magur hold up to richer, longer-cooked gravies.
A quick jhol needs only onion, slit green chillies, turmeric, cumin and a little tomato; heartier dishes benefit from ginger-garlic paste. Pick up chillies and coriander from fresh herbs and chilli.
Frequently asked questions
What is koi mach in English?
Koi mach is the climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) and has nothing to do with Japanese ornamental koi carp. It has firm flesh and sturdy bones, and in Bangladesh it is famously cooked as tel koi in a mustard-oil gravy.
Is the fish already cleaned?
Many species, including pabda, koi, tengra, puti, mola and bashpata, come scaled and gutted in frozen blocks, and the product name says so. Whole fish such as boal and some magur options need cleaning at home.
What's the difference between magur and shing?
Both are South Asian river catfish. Magur (yellow catfish) is bigger and meatier, while shing is smaller, darker and has sharp fin spines, so handle it carefully when cleaning. Both are traditionally cooked in a light vegetable jhol.
Why is the fish frozen in a block?
Small fish are frozen with a little water straight after cleaning, which protects them from freezer burn and keeps them from breaking. Thaw the block in the fridge and pour away the meltwater before cooking.