Gaad-Nadur (Fish and Lotus stem)

Kashmiri fish is considered to be very important. It is cooked on religious occasions like Sondar(Naam-karan ceremony), Gaad-Batt and the day after Shivratri. It tastes better when it is served cool.

Ingredients

1. 1 kg fish (r0hu or katla) and 1/2 kg lotus stems.


2. 300 ml mustard oil.


3. 1 tea spoon haldi (turmeric powder).


4. 3  table spoons saunf powder (fennel).


5. 2 table spoons kashmiri mirch.


6. 5-7 laung  half crushed (cloves).


7. 4 crushed moti elaichi (black cardamom).


8. 1/4 tea spoon hing (asafoetida).


9. 1 tea spoon zeera (Cumin).


10. 2 tea spoons half crushed ajwain (Carom Seeds) .


11. 4-5 saaboot laal mirchi (red chilies ).

Method

•  Wash the fish, drain off the excess water and spread each piece of fish on a sheet of paper (newspaper/ blotting paper) and let it dry for half an hour so as to avoid the loss of oil during frying.
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• Now layer with 1/2 spoon of salt and turmeric evenly.

• Put about 300 ml mustard oil in a big pan, heat it till smoke appears.

• Put 4-5 pieces of fish at a time for deep-frying.  As soon as the fish tuns dark brown remove them.  Fry all the pieces in the same way.

• Fry the lotus stems in the same manner.

• Remove the pan from the flame.

• Now bring a big patila in which the fish is to be cooked.

• Put one and a half litre of water in patila, add saunf powder, haldi powder, saunth, ajwain, saaboot mirchi, crushed elaichi, fried fish and salt to taste.

• Put the pan on low flame.  Add hing, zeera, half crushed cloves and kashmiri mirch in the oil and start stirring. Put 50 ml of water and stir again till maroon colour appears.

• Add whole contents of pan in the patila and let it boil on a full flame for five minutes and after that let it cook on a low flame for another half an hour, after that remove the lid and let it cool for sometime.

• Relish it with white boiled rice.

Note: Never heat the fish (even if you have stored it in the refrigerator). Place it outside the fridge half an hour before eating. Heating spoils the taste and aroma of this dish.

Optional: You can add radish in place of or along with the lotus stem.

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