Mache Bhaate Bengali (fish and boiled rice make the Bengali) is a phrase I have repeated many times during these blogs to emphasize how significant fish curries are to Bengali culture. The river, lakes, and freshwater bodies heavily influenced the lifestyle and cuisine of Bengali people over the centuries. So when you look back at our history, you will notice many, many fish curries originating in the medieval Bangla that are still around. Some of those dishes still hold the social class they had when they were served to the rulers of these lands. And Macher Kalia or Fish Kalia is one of them. 

Fish Kalia is special even amongst other fish curries because it is not something you will have on a regular lunch. Fish Kalia is usually made for special occasions, particularly wedding events. Even my sister’s wedding had Fish Kalia on the menu. And the chef absolutely nailed it. It was an absolute hit. 

Bengali wedding events usually focus on meat items. Chicken roast, Kacchi biryani, Khashir (mutton) Rezala, beef curry, grilled chicken, Chingrir Malaikari (Prawn malaikari) – are the dishes you expect to find in almost every Bengali wedding. Fish items are not common or even preferred. But one of the exceptions is Fish Kalia. If the host wants to include any kind of a fish curry in the menu of the wedding feast, Fish Kalia is the first in consideration. 

The special treatment Fish Kalia gets could be attributed to its prestigious origin in the subcontinent. Surprisingly there is a lot of information on Fish Kalia. Most sources point to the Mughal first bringing this dish into the subcontinent. And since it was a food for the emperors, the dish is still treated better than other fish curries. 

The word Kalia is derived from the Persian word Qaliya, which means stew or curry if I am not mistaken. Judging by the word’s meaning, I am assuming back in the Mughal era Kalia or Qaliya was the everyday fish curry recipe. Feel free to fact check this and provide more insight because I enjoy learning about how a name came to be. 

One dish kept coming up while I was reading about Fish Kalia. And the dish is Qorma. Based on my cursory research, what I could piece together is that Qorma and Qaliya both came from Persia to the Indian subcontinent during the Mughal empire. But between these two, Fish Kalia made a significantly bigger place in Bangladeshi cuisine. While Qorma is recognized by every Bangladeshi, it is more popular in other parts of the subcontinent. Moni Dadi has a recipe for Korma (Qorma) where I dove into the cultural and culinary significance of the dish. 

Now the Fish Kalia Bangladeshi people make is quite different from the North Indian recipe. I did not look much into the North Indian recipes, because Ms Shortcut Sokhina would not cook the same dish twice just to test the regional difference. So I cannot pinpoint how the recipes of two different geographical regions vary. But the main difference is in the use of potatoes. Bengali style Fish Kalia must have chopped potatoes in the curry. 

What I can confirm is that Moni dadi’s Fish Kalia recipe is even different from the typical Bengali style. Typically yogurt is a key ingredient in Fish Kalia. It helps bring out a sour taste in the gravy. But Moni Dadi decided that her recipe did not need yogurt for the flavor, vegetables are all she needs. So Moni Dadi’s recipe only includes tomatoes. And of course chopped potatoes are also present. Another noteworthy trick Moni Dadi did was not to fry the pieces of fish. She directly cooked them, as you can see in the recipe. 

The pictures you see were made with Rui Mach (Rohu fish). But you can also use Pangach mach (Pangas catfish), Katla mach (Indian Katla) or other kinds of big carp fish.